Impropriety
by CLK
Summary: Harm and Mac work a case to catch a blackmailer.
1. Chapter 1 thru 8

**Title: Impropriety**

**Background: **Originally Posted Fall 2004. Set sometime in season nine. There was no stint in the CIA, Harm came back to JAG; there's no Mattie, and Webb didn't get anywhere with Mac after Paraguay. Anything else that doesn't line up with season nine happenings, or seems absurd, please ignore.

**Rating: **PG13

**Summary: **Harm and Mac work a case to catch a blackmailer

**Special thanks to RJ. Without his constant support, advice, suggestions and occasional scripting this story would never have been.**

**Chapter 1 **

Snapping the latch shut on his briefcase, Harmon Rabb Jr. turned to his opposing counsel.

"I'm still willing to talk deal." Harm had delivered another exemplary oration in his closing arguments, but wasn't really confident that he'd succeeded in convincing the jury.

"Not this time. My client is innocent and we're going to wait for the verdict." Colonel Sarah MacKenzie shook her head as she followed Harm out of the courtroom.

"You have a flimsy case, built strictly on circumstantial evidence and you know it," Mac began as she and Harm walked through the bullpen.

"Colonel, Commander," Petty Officer Jennifer Coates interrupted at first sight of her superior officers.

"The Admiral wants to see you in his office." Extending her hands, "Let me take those for you sir, ma'am, I believe he's in a hurry."

Recognizing that look of 'don't mess with the Admiral today', Harm and Mac handed Jennifer their briefcases and headed directly to the Admiral's office.

Finding the door wide open, Harm knocked lightly on the frame. Admiral Chegwidden had been standing by the window when he heard the knock.

"Enter."

"You wanted to see us, sir." Harm and Mac stood at attention.

"Be seated." The admiral sat down as well.

"People, a situation has been brought to my attention. It appears one of the Sec Nav's friends has recently taken early retirement. This officer still had a bright future ahead of him."

Harm and Mac sat patiently waiting for the balance of information.

"Apparently, this officer has confided in the Sec Nav as a friend that he is being blackmailed. There are some suggestions of impropriety that would have devastating affects on his marriage as well as his career. He has implied there are other officers who are facing similar situations, some choosing to pay, others choosing to retire as he has. None, however, are willing to come forward officially to stop the blackmailer."

The Admiral paused to consider his officers and what he had to say next. "I'm sure you're aware that scuttlebutt has a way of making rounds in Washington regardless of whether or not there's any factual basis."

"Yes, sir," the two chorused.

The Admiral nodded his head. "Good, then what I have to say will not come as a total surprise to you."

Harm and Mac glanced at each other sideways in silent communication. This wasn't sounding good.

"The Sec Nav seems to think the two of you are the best ones to handle this case, he insists on it. His idea is to set a trap for the blackmailer or blackmailers. Due to the long standing working relationship you have, and the many years of scuttlebutt that have come from a misunderstanding of that relationship, he feels the two of you could easily become the next target."

"Sir?" Harm asked.

The Admiral walked around to the front of the two officers, and leaned back against his desk.

"He wants you to give the impression of impropriety," sighing heavily, "fraternization in particular."

"Excuse me, sir. I think I'm missing something here," Mac spoke, concern evident in her voice. Posing as Webb's pregnant wife was one thing, but cozying up to Harm was definitely playing with fire.

"Colonel, surely you must be aware that half of Washington has suspected something inappropriate between you and the Commander for years. Lindsey's report to the Sec Nav last year practically came right out and accused you of it."

Mac's mind flashed instantly to the night in McMurphy's many moons ago when Carolyn Imes had refused to believe that she and Harm had never, well never.

"Obviously, because of your ranks you can not be charged with fraternization, but none the less, two officers having an illicit affair under the same command can be considered detrimental to good order and discipline and is most definitely frowned upon." The Admiral took a deep breath.

"Since we have no leads as to who the source of this problem might be, it could take an enormous amount of time before questionable conduct among any other officers would reach the attention of our alleged blackmailer. With the help of some minor changes in behavior and a few 'slips' from well placed friends, confirmation of your relationship would be scuttlebutt all over Washington within hours."

"You're thinking my history with the article 32 and the admiral's mast will make me an excellent target. Both for believability, as well as another mark on my record could scuttle my career." Mac was beginning to agree the Sec Nav might be right. It wouldn't be a stretch for someone to think if she'd had an affair with an officer before, why not again.

The Admiral nodded his head.

"Sir, exactly who would these well placed friends be?" Harm asked, not completely convinced this was such a good idea. He also knew playing house with Mac could prove to be more than he could handle.

"Mostly your closest friends. Lt. Roberts and Sims, Commander Turner, Senator Latham, and Petty Officer Coates."

"Harriet would definitely be good for this type of operation, sir." This was the first thing Harm had found amusing since he and Mac came into the office.

"Lt. Roberts will quietly dig around the Sec Nav's friend, Captain DeNicholo. Hopefully he will come up with something more substantial for us. In the meantime, I want to make something clear. I'm not asking for blatant conduct unbecoming. This needs to appear as though your relationship has not changed. Any behavior has to appear as accidental confirmation of long time suspicions."

"Sir, is all this really necessary?" Mac asked.

"Colonel, we simply do not know how far reaching this situation is. With only hearsay from one source, we have no way of knowing how high ranking the other victims are, or more important still, if money isn't the only thing these people are interested in. I realize this is asking a great deal of you and the Commander, for personal, as well as professional reasons. I can't promise you there won't be long term effects on the rumor mill. I can, however, guarantee you this will not in anyway affect your official records."

"Yes, sir. Understood," Mac relented. The admiral was right, as long as there was even the slightest of chances that high ranking officers could be trading top secret information to hide past or present indiscretions, it was her duty to do what ever she could to stop it.

"I will leave it up to you to decide how to proceed with this assignment. Dismissed."

"Aye, aye." Harm and Mac turned on their heels to leave. Both flabbergasted beyond words, wondering how they were going to handle what they'd just gotten themselves into.

The absurdity of this entire situation was beginning to give AJ a major headache. He knew how these two felt about each other and wasn't sure if this was exactly the kick in the pants they needed to finally come to their senses, or if it would be the straw that broke the camel's back and would end the relationship once and for all.

**Chapter 2 **

Following Mac into her office and closing the door behind them, Harm took a seat in front of Mac's desk.

"Any ideas how we're going to go about this?" Mac asked, leaning back against her chair.

Rubbing his hands through his hair quickly. "No, how about you?" Harm leaned forward.

"Well the Admiral doesn't want this to appear obvious, so at least that eliminates checking into a sleazy motel." Mac almost cracked a smile.

Harm looked up, a sliver of an idea forming.

Mac noticed the odd gleam in his eye. "What are you thinking?"

"The Admiral said we couldn't outright change our behavior because it needed to appear that this is something that has been going on all along. It's critical our behavior appear to be a casual slip. Right?"

Mac nodded her head waiting for him to go on.

"If we were to start spending the night at each other's apartment, or kissing publicly in some out of the way restaurants, or occasionally hold hands discreetly someplace in uniform, all of those things would be out of character for the way we've behaved over the last eight years."

"I would think that's pretty obvious, we haven't been having an affair all these years." Mac couldn't see where Harm was going with this.

"Exactly, anything we try under normal circumstances would look suspicious to an intelligent person and it's best not to underestimate this blackmailer from the start. Now, don't say no until you hear me out." Harm waited for Mac to agree before continuing.

"What if we pretend you've gotten pregnant? Intelligent, mature, educated people get pregnant accidentally all the time. No birth control is guaranteed to work 100 of the time. It would force us to behave differently and certainly would provide new ammunition for the rumor mill."

Mac sat there, her eyebrows touching the ceiling, her jaw kissing the floor. The man had lost his mind.

Harm could tell this wasn't going over well, but at least she wasn't screaming no.

"Think about it Mac, an unplanned pregnancy among two officers having an affair definitely constitutes a slip up."

Mac had to admit this most certainly would count as a slip up. To be more precise, the mother of all slip ups.

"Lets, for just a minute, say I agree with you. Exactly what do you have in mind?" Mac's mind flashed to those horrible weeks in Paraguay wearing that horrendously uncomfortable and heavy maternity suit.

"Well, we'd probably have to talk to Harriet, but you could fake some of the symptoms. Pretend you're ill and go to the ladies room. People are always quick to assume the worst."

A small grin began to grow out of the corner of her mouth. "I suppose your going with me to the gynecologist would raise a few eyebrows." The grin was now full blown.

Harm had to pick his jaw up off the floor. Payback was payback. "Could be," he grinned.

"Is it a plan then?" Harm asked timidly.

"How about this, let's invite Bud and Harriet over to my place tonight and we can discuss it with them. If Harriet can come up with some good ideas, and I don't have to wear another suit, yeah, maybe this idea could work."

**Mac's apartment**

**Georgetown**

**Later that evening**

"Wow, how long has this been going on?" Harriet asked astonished.

"That's part of the problem. No one knows. We're all going into this rather blindly," Harm answered.

"I even called Clay to see if the company had any info that might help us out. No wind of any blackmailing rings involving officers is blowing at Langley." Mac added.

"You called Webb?" Harm questioned, rather sternly.

"You're just upset you didn't think of it first."

"No, but at least we know everyone at Langley is on the same page," Harm smiled innocently at Mac.

"Catherine?"

"Catherine," he nodded.

Bud and Harriet looked at each other confused as to what their superiors found so amusing.

"It looks like it's up to you Bud, we'll need you to keep us posted on any new info you're able to get from Captain DeNicholo," Harm informed Bud, his lips pressed tightly at the seriousness of the situation.

"That could be a while. I made some preliminary phone calls as soon as the Admiral gave me the assignment. DeNicholo was definitely on the right track career wise. Rumor has it he was on the short list for Military Liaison to Homeland Security. There also seems to be some scuttlebutt before he retired regarding himself and a female other than his wife. Unfortunately, the good Captain and his family are on a cruise. I won't be able to talk to him and confirm anything for at least another week," Bud sighed, silently requesting his friend's understanding.

"In that case, let's get down to business," Harriet began. "There are a couple of things you could do right away that will eventually create suspicion. Firstly, you need to start using the ladies room more often. By the time any woman is nine months pregnant, she is intimately familiar with every restroom in a 500 mile radius."

Mac looked at Harriet curiously. "I never noticed you using the restroom that often."

"You're not a busy body. Besides, don't you remember that Saturday we went antiqueing outside of town when I was pregnant with AJ and you found it amusing that the first thing I did at every location was ask where the bathroom was just in case?"

"I'd forgotten about that," Mac smiled, wondering if this might just work.

"If you change some eating habit, that would help. Stop eating burgers and start eating salads, or maybe stop drinking coffee and drink tea. There are two sides to the eating change. One is pregnant women try to avoid certain things, like caffeine. The other is, pregnancy often turns you off of an old favorite food or onto another. I crave mint sauce when I'm pregnant," Harriet shrugged.

"If you walk into the break room and someone is heating up something smelly, put your hand on your stomach and act nauseous excusing yourself from the room. That will send rumors flying so fast, you'll find yourself home nursing triplets before you know it." Harriet paused scanning her memory banks for more symptoms.

"You can help too, sir," Bud interjected. "Start doing more for the Colonel." Noting Harm's confused expression Bud went into more detail.

"Don't let her carry anything heavy. Even something light like her briefcase. Offer to get her food all the time. Bring her tea or juice without her asking. Offer her a chair, or suggest shouldn't she be resting when you see her standing." Bud paused to think of more possibilities.

"You're trying to get me killed aren't you?" Harm teased. Mac would never stand for him hovering that way under normal circumstances. He wasn't so sure she would put up with it now.

"No, sir," Bud chuckled, understanding full well that as a marine, Mac didn't take well to being coddled.

"Sir, it shouldn't be that hard for you. Try to convince yourself that the Colonel really is pregnant. Then just do what comes naturally, the same way you did things for me," Harriet pointed out. "Remember, every time you saw me carrying a stack of files, you'd pull them away from me and ask, "should you be carrying those?" Harriet smiled at the recollection.

The rest of the evening was spent mapping out the details of the change in Mac and Harm's behavior as well as opportunities for the insiders to encourage the rumors. Quietly Harm and Mac wondered to themselves, what had they gotten into?

**Chapter 3 **

**JAG headquarters**

**The following week**

Mac had been the first to start her assignment. She was sneaking at least 64 ounces of water in an 8 hour time period to ensure frequently needing to use the ladies room. Mac had also made it a point to be in the break room often during lunch, turning her nose up at the smell of food whenever possible. After only one week the rumor mill had begun buzzing.

Taking advantage of the unusually warm spring day, Mac and Harriet sat at an isolated table out on the patio enjoying lunch together for the first time since the plan had been put into operation.

"I haven't heard anyone suggest anything specific yet, but when I was in the ladies room yesterday, I overheard Petty Officers Jennings and Maroney chatting about how odd your behavior has been and wondering what could be causing it." Satisfied with her report, Harriet leaned back in the chair.

"I thought I'd noticed a few people stop talking as I get closer," Mac commented. "I wasn't sure if maybe I was being paranoid. I guess not."

"It's probably time to move on to the food changes, and soon have Harm start doting." Harriet picked up her sandwich to take a bite.

"I hope this doesn't take too long." Mac took a sip of her drink, her frustration showing already.

"Look on the bright side, if this were real, you'd have at least eight more months ahead of you," Harriet giggled merrily.

"Gee, thanks," Mac snorted. Deep down she couldn't help being reminded about their deal. As much as she complained, she'd like nothing more than to be expecting a baby with Harm. Absentmindedly, her hand dropped to her stomach. Both she and Harriet were unaware of the prying eyes not far away.

"Have you and the Commander come up with any other ideas to help this along?" Harriet took a bite of her lunch.

"Not really, Harm and I have had dinner together every night except Tuesday at either his place or mine." Mac paused to roll her eyes. "God, that sounds like such a tired cliché." She and Harriet giggled quietly.

"We've made it a point to leave really late, but who knows if it'll make any difference yet. We're pretty much just playing it by ear, depending on how the rumor mill works out. I think your visit with Bobbi will be the next catalyst," Mac shrugged.

The two women finished their lunch while Harriet entertained Mac with more maternity stories to hopefully help Mac 'feel' the part.

**Senator Latham's office**

**Washington DC**

**Next day**

"Marge, have I gotten that background info yet on the next USO tour?" Bobbi Latham carefully inquired through the intercom.

"Yes, ma'am. A Lt. Harriet Sims is waiting for you now," Marge replied. She'd wondered for several days how her boss got roped into doing PR for the USO. Whatever the reason, there was bound to be a crusade to be won somewhere.

"Great, send her in." Bobbi stood at her desk as Harriet closed the door behind her and made herself comfortable in one of the large chairs.

"Do you really think this will work, ma'am?" Harriet shifted in her seat.

"Trust me, Harriet. Marge is the biggest blabbermouth on the hill. If we want scuttlebutt to start churning from both ends of the city, Marge is the one to start it."

"If you say so." Harriet wasn't convinced, but she was willing to try.

"I think five more minutes and we should be ready to start. You know what to do right?" Bobbi kept her eyes on her wristwatch.

"Ready when you are."

Waiting the suggested five minutes, Bobbi hit the key on her intercom. "Marge, come in here, please."

Paying careful attention to the office door, Harriet waited until the precise moment she saw the doorknob begin to turn.

"They've been so careful all these years. I can't imagine what this will do to their careers if it's true." Harriet tried to look serious.

As Marge made her way to the desk, Bobbie held up her hand to Harriet feigning the need for privacy.

"Marge, I need you to get me everything you can on Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. and Lt. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. Both official and off the record, and keep this on the QT." Bobbi knew full well, that last request alone would spark Marge's curiosity if nothing else had.

"Right away, Senator." Marge turned quickly, wondering if the scuttlebutt for all these years had finally come to a head.

Once the door was closed. "I think we got her. I'd recognize that stalking cat look from a mile away. She'll find out what you're talking about and all of Washington will know within the week," Bobbi smiled, satisfied with their plan.

"I certainly hope so. The Colonel is already tired of playing pregnant. If she has to wear another one of those suits, none of us may survive this," Harriet chuckled, only partly teasing.

"YOU hope this is over soon? Not that I don't want to help, but I have too much on my plate already. If this whole thing isn't settled quickly, you're looking at the new Congressional Liaison for the USO," Bobbi laughed, shaking her head.

**Few days later**

**JAG OPs **

Harm was coming out of Mac's office. He had been looking for her for over 15 minutes when a panicked Petty Officer O'Reilly practically knocked him over rushing to her office.

"Whoa, slow down Petty Officer," Harm admonished, momentarily forgetting about his search for Mac.

"Sorry, sir. It's just that Colonel MacKenzie is 10 minutes late for court and Admiral Morris is about to eat everyone alive if we don't find her, sir." Standing at attention, the Petty Officer's eyes darted towards Mac's office.

"Carry on, Petty Officer," Harm nodded, fear instantly erupting. Glancing around the bullpen, Harm turned towards the Admiral's office just as Coates came around the corner.

"Sir, do you know where the Colonel may have gone?" Jen asked, barely slowing down.

"I was just coming to ask you the same thing." This wasn't like Mac. She was never late for court, unless…

"Jennifer you check the cafeteria, I'll check the law library." Looking over, Harm called across the bullpen to Harriet. "Lt. Sims."

Harriet recognized the look in Harm's eyes. Something was wrong. Hurrying to his side, "Yes, sir?"

"Check and see if Mac is in the ladies room. She's late for court." Harm didn't need to say anything else. Harriet knew as well as anyone, Mac was never late for court.

Harriet raced to the ladies room. A wave of dread had spread across the bullpen in minutes. Personnel were scattering around the building checking all the likely, and unlikely, places the Colonel might be.

Shoving the heavy door open, Harriet came to an abrupt stop at the sight before her. 'Oh, this is too good to be true,' she thought.

Popping her head out the door, she called down the hall. "I found her, someone get Commander Rabb."

Normally Harriet would never have sent for Harm just yet but she couldn't let the opportunity slip by. Turning to her friend, draped across the floor, wearily embracing the commode, Harriet grabbed some paper towels and ran them under the cold water.

Stepping up to the stall Mac was in, "What's this?"

Before Mac could answer, another bout of nausea struck and she lost what little else was left in her stomach.

Ensign Smith entered the ladies room to tell Harriet that Harm was on his way from the law library just in time to hear the wretched sounds coming from Mac's stall. Cringing slightly at the sound, "The Commander will be here momentarily, ma'am."

"Thank you Ensign. Better have someone tell Admiral Morris the Colonel will not be able to make it today," Harriet ordered, delighted to have a witness to Mac's miserable condition.

"I know marines are supposed to be gung ho, ma'am. But don't you think this is carrying an assignment a bit too far?" Harriet grinned.

**Chapter 4 **

"I know marines are supposed to be gung ho, ma'am. But don't you think this is carrying an assignment a bit too far?" Harriet grinned.

"Harriet, if I didn't love you so much, I'd deck you for that comment." Mac let out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong, Mac?"

"I must have the flu. I was a little tired this morning and didn't feel like breakfast. I barely made it into the ladies room once my stomach started doing summersaults. Every time I think I can get up and leave, everything comes up again." Mac had been vomiting off and on for almost an hour, her stomach ached and she was exhausted.

Harm tapped lightly on the door before peering in. "Is the coast clear?"

"Yes, sir. Come on in," Harriet called. "You're partner here has impeccable timing. It seems she's chosen now to catch only the second stomach flu she's had in nine years at JAG." Harriet couldn't resist smiling at how opportune this flu was.

"You look terrible, marine." Harm couldn't remember ever seeing Mac such a nice shade of green.

"Sweet talk will get you nowhere." At least Mac hadn't totally lost her sense of humor.

"If you can help the Colonel up, I'll go get a trash can so you can take her home." Harriet stood up to leave, pausing near the doorway. "This is just too good to be true!" She announced enthusiastically before continuing out the door.

"Does she always have to be so cheerful?" Mac asked, trying to straighten up a little.

Grinning broadly, "Well, that's our Harriet. Part of being an over achiever. Are you up to the ride home?"

"Probably not, but if I have to develop a relationship with a toilet, I'd rather it were mine," Mac smiled roughly.

"Understood," Harm nodded.

Once Harriet had returned with the trashcan, Harm helped Mac off the floor. Carefully wrapping his arm around her waist, Mac leaned against him, hugging the waste can tightly against her.

Coates met them outside the ladies room door. "I have your covers, should I get your briefcases too?"

"Thank you, yes, Jen. I'll take the covers, you go get the briefcases. I'll meet you at the car." Harm reached out with his spare hand to receive the two covers.

Harm and Mac had barely made it down the hall when the bullpen began buzzing. Harriet and Jen winked at each other. They couldn't have asked for more. Since her visit to Bobbi Latham's office, the scuttlebutt had already begun to use the 'P' word. She was sure after today, their job was done. Now all they needed was for it to get back to the blackmailer.

**JAG Parking Lot**

**Same time.**

Patiently he stood on the sidewalk, blending in with the military scenery. His eyes were carefully aware of every movement around him. He'd been through more than a pack of cigarettes waiting for the first sighting of his targets. These military types were such fools. Not a single person had taken notice of his hovering. As long as you look the part, no one gives you a second glance.

Harm never released his hold of Mac as they exited the building. They couldn't have drawn a larger audience to their departure if they'd published an invitation in the Navy Times. Eyes followed them from doorways, windows, and around corners. Shortening his stride, Harm breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached his car.

"If you're not feeling better tomorrow, I'll arrange for someone to bring your car home." Slowly, Mac eased into the front seat of his car. Without giving any thought to being in uniform or on military property, Harm leaned over and gently kissed Mac on the forehead. "I'm sorry you feel so awful," he smiled.

Stepping around to the driver's side of the vehicle, Harm never noticed the telephoto lens protruding through the shrubs, nor the scrawny little man in fatigues operating it.

**Mac's apartment**

**Short time later**

Harm had led Mac immediately to her bedroom. They had only needed to stop once on the way home from work and Harm was thankful when they finally made it to her room.

"Do you need some help getting out of that uniform or can you handle it on your own?" Harm asked sincerely.

"I'm nauseous Harm, not crippled." Mac rolled her eyes. "But, you can get me my pajamas from the back of the bathroom door." She began undoing the buttons on her uniform blouse, she felt too miserable to worry about a sense of modesty.

Harm paused slightly at the sight of Mac's blouse half unbuttoned when he returned to her bedside. "Here you go. Anything else?" He hoped she said no, he didn't really want to still be there when the blouse came off. Well, he did but that was better left to another time.

"No thanks," Mac smiled weakly, watching Harm leave the room. She could have sworn he was almost blushing.

Mac fell asleep almost immediately after crawling into bed. Deciding now was as good a time as any to finally read that book everyone was talking about. Harm picked up Mac's copy of the DeVinci Code and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

Almost an hour had passed when Harm heard Mac heaving. Having long ago taken off his jacket, he rolled up his sleeves and quickly headed for Mac's room. Unable to do much else other than watch, Harm stepped into the bathroom in search of a washcloth. When he returned to Mac's bedside with the moist cloth, Mac had already curled up on her side, her eyelids heavy with sleep.

Gently he caressed her face with the small damp towel, wiping away the sweat and exhaustion until she was sound asleep.

A few hours later Harm heard Mac calling his name. Carrying a tray of toast and ginger ale, he smiled at his marine. Even sick she was still beautiful.

"Whatya got there?" She was still a little groggy.

"My mom says once you haven't thrown up for at least two hours I can start feeding you dry toast and ginger ale." He set the tray on the nightstand before sitting next to her.

"You're mother taught you that?" She was startled at his nursing skills.

"Not really, I called her and asked her what to do." Harm flashed her a broad smile.

Mac simply rolled her eyes. It was bad enough she felt so awful, she wasn't thrilled about having it broadcast from coast to coast.

"You're actually looking much better." Harm put his hand on her forehead.

"I feel much better." She was more surprised than Harm at how much better she was after a little sleep. "Maybe this is just one of those twenty four hour bugs."

"I certainly hope so. It's no fun watching you be sick." Harm shook his head slightly.

"It's no picnic for me either, Flyboy." Mac couldn't get angry with him, he'd been so good to her already.

"I don't like seeing you in discomfort, Mac." Harm held out a piece of toast. "Mom says you have to eat something. Oh, and that reminds me, Harriet is sending Bud over with some homemade chicken soup."

Mac let out small chuckle. "The American cure all."

**Chapter 5**

**Mac's apartment**

**Later that evening**

Harm was once again comfortably enjoying Mac's book when Bud arrived with Harriet's soup.

"How's she doing, sir?" Bud handed Harm the large Tupperware tub of homemade soup.

"A lot better thanks. She had some toast and ginger ale about three hours ago and it stayed down. She's been sleeping ever since. We're thinking it's just a twenty four hour bug." Harm signaled for Bud to follow him into the kitchen.

"That's good. Harriet and I can't get over the Colonel's good luck to get sick just when she could use it for an assignment," Bud grinned happily.

"Don't say THAT to her." Harm shook his head, smiling broadly. "I doubt she considers herself lucky."

"Well, no, sir. What I mean is, if she has to get sick at least there's some benefit to getting sick NOW," Bud said in a rush.

"Yeah, still, better not say anything about it to her," Harm warned, pouring the soup into a pot on the stove.

"I was able to speak with Captain DeNicholo this afternoon." Bud stepped closer to Harm so he wouldn't risk waking Mac up.

"It took some doing, but I finally got him to tell me the whole story. At least, I think it's the whole story. It seems the Captain has been married for about 10 years now. His wife just had their second child last year. Apparently, he was feeling a bit left out of everything and found himself getting closer to his administrative assistant, Petty Officer Margaret Hurley."

Harm turned from his pot to raise one eyebrow at Bud. "Petty Officer?" Harm sighed.

"Yes, sir. The Captain turned 43 this year, that didn't help matters."

"What about the Petty Officer?"

"Twenty-seven years old, she just came out of a very messy divorce." Bud flipped the page of his pocket notebook. "By the time the two of them came to their senses about what they were risking, the blackmail had already started."

"How long ago was that?" Harm asked lowering the flame on the soup and waving Bud into the living room.

"About six months ago. It started with them receiving some rather…, intimate photos. I believe the blackmailer enjoys toying with his victims."

"Why's that?" Harm had taken a seat in the chair across from Bud.

"Well, sir, after the initial photos, intimidating phone calls started with no request for payment. It's like he wanted to watch them sweat it out, or squirm if you will, sir."

Harm nodded his head listening carefully.

"Eventually, a request for $10,000 dollars came with a second batch of photos. He paid that hoping to salvage his marriage and his career. The Petty Officer requested a transfer and they all thought it was behind them, until a new batch of photos appeared again last month. The fee had gone up to $20,000, only this time he was given the option of paying up or resigning. He didn't have that kind of money, and he didn't want his wife to find out, so he resigned his commission."

"The blackmailer gave him the out of resigning his commission?" Harm sat back, the wheels turning in his head.

"Yes, sir. It's a shame too. Until the incident with the Petty Officer, his record was spotless."

"It fits the MO we were given, bright and promising careers. Did he save the envelopes, is there anything we can try for a finger print match from? A postal mark? Something?"

"No, sir. He burned all of it as soon as it was received. He considered trying to trace the calls the blackmailer made to the Petty Officer but he never stayed on the line more than 30 seconds."

"Any luck finding out who some of the other victims are?" Harm had leaned forward again.

"No, sir. He refused to mention anyone by name, but he insisted that national security was not being compromised."

"As far as he knows. Why would someone want DeNicholo out of the service? What possible benefit could there be?" Harm asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Care to clue me in?" A soft voice carried over from Mac's doorway.

"MAC, you shouldn't be out of bed." Harm jumped up at the sound of her voice.

"I'm much better." She made her way over to the empty chair. "Give me the abridged version."

Harm sat back processing what little information Bud had brought, while Mac listened intently to the retelling of events.

"Not much to go on." Mac glanced at Harm, "but, at least we know what to expect next."

Harm just looked at her, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"P-h-o-t-o-g-r-a-p-h-s," Mac carefully enunciated for Harm.

"Right. Except... where is he going to get 'intimate' photos of us?" Harm retorted back.

"Good point." Mac pressed her lips, twisting her mouth slightly while she thought. "You got any plans tonight, sailor?" smiling at Harm, she winked to Bud who was now turning beet red.

Shifting to look at Bud, "How intimate were the photos?" Harm asked pointedly.

"He didn't specify, sir."

"Find out. I want to know if we're dealing with a Peeping Tom or if we're talking public indiscretion. Until we find out we'll have to do what we can to fill both criteria." Without realizing it, Harm and Mac simultaneously let out a quiet sigh. This is the part they had both silently been afraid of – filling the 'criteria'.

"Yes, sir." Looking down at his watch. "I'd better be going. I don't think Harriet expected me to stay this long as it is," Bud nodded to his two superior officers before making his way to the door.

"Thanks, Bud. Keep us apprised of anything new." Harm waited for Bud to make his way down the hall before closing the door.

"What are you thinking?" Mac tilted her head as though it would make reading his mind easier.

"That you should be in bed." Harm pointed to Mac's room.

"Seriously, Harm. Got any ideas?" Mac leaned back in the chair.

In three short strides, Harm was at Mac's side.

"I seriously think you should be in bed, but, there's something not right here and I can't quite place my finger on it. Depending on what Bud finds out about the blackmail photos, we might have to rethink our plan of no public displays of affection."

"And if the photos are more personal than that?" Mac raised an eyebrow.

"Then you'd better start looking for hidden cameras." Reaching for Mac's hand. "Come on marine, let's get you back to bed."

"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl," Mac teased in a southern drawl.

Harm tucked Mac into bed, nice and snug before stepping around to the other side of the bed and stripping out of his uniform.

"You're staying?" Mac tried to stop the corners of her mouth from smiling.

"Well, we might as well do this right. Good night, DEAR." He leaned across the bed and kissed her gently on the forehead. After all, spending the night would certainly add to the impression of intimacy. Not to mention, he just plain wanted to be with her.

Chuckling to herself, Mac sunk further down under the covers. "Night HONEY."

**Chapter 6 **

**Rock Creek Park**

**Two days later **

"It looks like there isn't a soul in the building who doesn't believe we're pregnant. No matter how many times Harriet and Coates explained it was a twenty four hour flu, no one could be convinced otherwise," Harm chuckled.

"So Harriet tells me." Mac didn't find the situation all that amusing. "You realize when all this is over it's going to be hell trying to set things right again."

Mac had indeed begun to feel better by the following day. Since it was Friday, the Admiral suggested she stay home just to make sure she didn't further contaminate any of the staff. As a reward for the continued progress scuttlebutt was making, Harm and Mac had decided to treat themselves to a Saturday lunch in the park.

"Let's just take this thing one day a time." Deep down, this did seem right to him. He knew they were just playing, but the thought of Mac pregnant with his child sent an indescribable thrill up his spine. The thought of actually getting Mac pregnant with his child sent an indescribable thrill a lot of other places too.

"Come here." Harm tugged at Mac's hand till she lost her balance. Shifting his position slightly, he encouraged Mac to lay her head in his lap.

"We might as well make this look good in case anyone is watching." Gently stroking her hair, the initial tenseness at the close encounter gradually fell away until Mac was willingly enjoying his delicate touch.

"This is just what I needed, thank you," Mac smiled, her eyes closed. "At least now I know why you dragged me to the most secluded corner of this blasted park." The corners of Mac's mouth curled up a little further.

"I resent that, I did not drag you," Harm huffed. "I merely chose an optimal location to enjoy the afternoon and possibly further our case at the same time."

"I sure wish this thing would hurry up and be over with. If I have to go much longer without coffee at work in the morning I may never recover." Mac still had her eyes closed.

"Well, maybe we can hurry this guy along." Almost in slow motion, Harm slid his arm under Mac's neck and raised her high enough to meet his eager lips.

Delicately savoring her soft lips against his, Harm tried to remind himself, this is just for show don't get too involved. He might as well have told himself the moon is made of cheese. Her lips were so soft and tender, caressing his with a gentle, teasing pressure, he was instantly lost to the blazing sensations.

Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around his neck and he had laid her down on the blanket, their lips still locked with magnetic force. Unable to resist the pull any longer, his tongue slid out of it's cavernous home to graze softly across the seam of her lips, the taste sweeter than honey. He was almost startled when Mac's lips parted slightly allowing him the exploration he so desperately craved.

This is just an act. You have to maintain some control. Sarah MacKenzie reminded herself. Oh God, this isn't fair. His tongue sweeping across her lips was too much. She wanted to taste him, all of him. Her tongue darted past his lips, deepening the kiss, magnifying the tingling sensations already flowing through her veins.

Public, you're in public, Harm reminded himself. His hands desperately wanted to travel along her soft skin, to caress her sensuous curves, to bring her all the pleasure he'd ever dreamed of, but he couldn't. This isn't real. When he made love to Sarah MacKenzie she would know it wasn't an act, wasn't because of an assignment.

Grudgingly, he forced himself to pull back. Placing a gentle, more chaste, kiss on her inviting lips, Harm took a deep breath. "I, uh.."

"I know," Mac sighed, kissing him sweetly on the cheek. "We'd better get going. I think we made our point."

**Bethesda Naval Hospital**

**Later that week **

**0945**

"This was an excellent idea Harriet. You're sure you didn't do this on purpose?" Mac teased as the two ladies exited the large building.

"Honest Injun, ma'am. This is totally coincidental, and quite frankly, a bit of a surprise for me too." Harriet rolled her eyes grinning.

"Well, it's now official I guess. According to Bethesda, I'm pregnant." Mac shook her head.

"I can't get over how easy that was. Sending me into the ladies room first to leave a sample with your name on it was brilliant, ma'am."

"I wouldn't exactly call that complex military strategy, Harriet."

"Do you think it will make a difference? I mean..." Harriet looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Do you think the blackmailer has enough connections to get a hold of your medical records?"

"Who knows. I don't think any of us would have gone through the trouble of falsifying records to bolster our position, but as long as you really are pregnant, and this little switch was so easy, it was worth taking advantage of." Mac clicked her keys, unlocking the car doors.

"It's been almost three weeks ma'am. If the blackmailer is going to make you and the Commander a target, how much longer do you think it will be before we hear something?" Harriet buckled her seatbelt as Mac pulled out of the parking space.

"Harriet, there's always a chance the blackmailer will never pick us as a target," Mac sighed.

"Hmm, I suppose so," Harriet agreed. If this didn't help catch the blackmailer, it sure would be an awful lot of trouble, and smearing of their reputations, for naught.

**Harm's office**

**JAG headquarters**

**1610**

Lost in thought over the quagmire of information on the screen before him, Harm hadn't heard Bud knock at the door.

"Excuse me, sir," Bud called, tapping a second time on the doorframe.

"Sorry, Bud. Come on in." Harm gestured for Bud to take a seat. "Have you got anything new for us?"

"I'm still working on that list of recently retired high ranking officers. I think I may have come across something, but I'd like to check it out some more first."

"I appreciate your taking the time to help with this. I know your case load is as full as Mac's and mine." Harm pushed his seat slightly away from his desk, rubbing his hand across his right temple.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Bud was concerned this case was more stressful for the Commander and Colonel than they were letting on.

Before Harm could respond, Jen was at the door with a large manila envelope in hand.

"Excuse me, sir," she knocked. "This was left for you at the guard house."

Stepping into his office, she reached forward and handed the envelope to Harm.

"Thanks, Jen." He waited a few moments for Jen to leave. Noticing no return address, only his name, he pulled out a handkerchief to carefully hold the envelope in place. Using a letter opener to rip the flap open, Harm scattered the contents on the desk.

Spreading several photos across his desk with the eraser of a pencil, Harm took a deep breath. There was a photo of him and Mac leaving headquarters arm in arm, obviously the day she got ill. Another photo of Harm leaving Mac's building around sunrise in a somewhat crumpled uniform, also most likely taken the morning after her flu attack. Harm hadn't brought a sea bag with him so he needed to leave early enough be able to go home and change and still report for duty on time. Most startling though, was a copy of Mac's positive pregnancy test. How in heaven's name did they get a hold of that information so quickly?

"Looks like you've got someone's attention, sir," Bud said, now standing beside Harm, his eyes wide at the photo of Harm and Mac necking in the park.

"Same MO too. No request for pay off." Ignoring Bud's dumbfounded expression Harm carefully placed all the items back into the envelope and handed it off to Bud with the handkerchief.

"Have these analyzed for finger prints. Maybe we'll catch a break and he, or she, will have made a mistake. I'll let you know which guard accepted the delivery so we can inform the lab to expect to find his fingerprints as well as Jen's and mine. I'm going to head over to the guard house now and see if he has a description of the person or vehicle that dropped this off while his memory is still fresh."

Refocused with their individual assignments, the two officers left Harm's office. The games had begun.

**Chapter 7 **

"Alright, agreed. Administrative discharge, loss of pay and no brig time." Mac walked into her office with Sturgis on her heel.

"Even though my client wanted to stay in, I'm sure he can be convinced it's the wiser man who accepts no brig time and lives to…" Sturgis stopped mid sentence when he noticed Mac frozen, staring into her desk chair.

"Is something wrong, Mac?" Sturgis inched his way slowly, closer to the desk in an attempt to see over to the chair. For only a moment he wondered if Bud had taken custody of another snake. "What is it?"

"Oh, sorry, Sturgis. I think this is what we've been waiting for. Could you get Harm and Bud for me?" Mac's limbs seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Forcing herself to squat down, she examined the envelope as carefully as possible without touching it.

"I see you got one too," Bud sighed from the doorway, Harm stepping around him.

"You got one too?" Mac backed away allowing Harm better access to her chair and its contents.

"Yeah a couple of hours ago. How long have you been in court?"

"One hour and forty seven minutes. Give or take a few seconds," she smiled up at Sturgis who was shaking his head.

Carefully lifting the envelope with a pair of first aid tweezers, Harm leaned over and slit the envelope open, much as he had his own earlier that afternoon. Spilling the contents onto Mac's desk, everyone's eyes grew round as saucers at the sight of the first photo on the stack: Harm standing slightly to one side as Mac sat on her bed undoing the buttons to her uniform blouse.

Mac's hand slowly found its way to Harm's shoulder where she proceeded to squeeze it tightly. Visions of another time, 'even God forgives,' flashing through her mind like a neon sign.

Instantly Harm knew what Mac must have been thinking. Once again her privacy had been invaded as Coster had done so many years ago.

"You okay?" Harm reached around placing a hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah, just let me sit down a minute," Mac responded, dropping heavily in the chair.

"I'll arrange to have the Colonel's apartment scanned for all surveillance equipment, sir," Bud volunteered immediately. Neither him nor Sturgis dared ask the circumstance of the photo.

"This could have been taken from somewhere outside Mac's apartment as well. See if you can narrow down an angle of vision and check out whoever or whatever is renting the spaces from where these photos could have been taken." Harm stared at the stack of photos. Except for the one of Mac undressing the night she took ill, the rest of the contents were the same as Harm had received.

Mac had been staring vacantly at the men in the room as they discussed how to proceed. Catching sight of the flashing email icon out of the corner of her eye, without thinking Mac turned to access her computer and email.

A few minutes later Harm, Sturgis and Bud turned to Mac in silence at her loud gasp.

"What now?" Harm asked softly.

"You guys better take a look at this," Mac sighed, the numbness beginning to take a back seat to her marine fury.

'My Dear Friends,

I do so hope you've enjoyed these souvenirs of your tender times together.

Do be a little more careful in public. You never know who might be watching.

We wouldn't want the Admiral to find out, would we? No telling what would happen then.

We'll be in touch again later.

PS. Perhaps I can be the first to offer my congratulations on the bastard Rabb child.'

"Does the Admiral know about any of this?" Sturgis asked, a little overwhelmed by the quick turn of events.

"Not yet, but I think under the circumstances, sooner might be better than later." Hitting print, Harm watched the printer spit out the foul communication.

"Well, I think it's obvious you three don't need a cheering section. Let me know if you need me to do anything," Sturgis offered, retreating quietly to his own office.

Within minutes, the three officers were standing at attention in front of Admiral Chegwidden's desk.

"At ease. What have you people got for me?" Chegwidden barked, barely looking up at them. He'd been swamped all day with some inane report the Sec Nav insisted he wanted on his desk by tomorrow morning.

"We've been contacted, sir," Mac spoke up.

Raising his head, his eyebrows stretching to the ceiling, "When?" AJ's voice came out more softly.

"I received an envelope several hours ago, then the Colonel received a similar envelope shortly after mine. Just now when we were inspecting the contents of her package, this email arrived." Harm pointed his nose at the paper Mac was waving in front of the Admiral.

Reading it over, "Let's trace this and see where it leads us. I don't suppose it would be asking too much for it to be from the same email address as the notes to Captain DeNicholo?" AJ looked directly at Bud.

"No, sir. It isn't. I didn't really think it would be. This was sent from a web based free internet provider out of Germany."

Three heads turned simultaneously to gawk at Bud in surprise.

Understanding the root of their confusion. "The email address is yourfriendfreenet.de, the de domain name stands for Deutchland, German for Germany. It doesn't take a computer geek to know freenet probably means just that, free internet," Bud shrugged one shoulder at his fellow officers.

"You might remember from the fiasco a few years ago over Commander Rabb, and a certain letter to the editor, that any good hacker can easily manipulate the system. We'd probably just be chasing our tails trying to follow the email trail." Age had mellowed the once eager young Lieutenant.

"Do we have anything on the envelopes?" AJ directed his question to Rabb.

"Mine has already been sent to the lab for analysis. I spoke with the guard on duty who received it. He said a young boy walked up and handed it to him and then just disappeared. We haven't had time yet to determine how the Colonel's envelope made it to her office.

"What about DeNicholo and the other victims? Any progress on that front?" AJ sat back in his chair. This whole thing made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. He didn't like his people involved in this sort of thing, and yet, he knew they were the best people for it.

"Nothing else from DeNicholo, sir, but I have been cross checking the list of recent retirees for any connection and eliminating the officers with legitimate cause.

"Very well, Lt," AJ sighed again. "Keep me posted on anything, dismissed."

When he was once again in an empty office, AJ ran his fingers across his scalp. He wished he could shake the feeling that something about this whole mess just didn't feel right. His instincts were hardly ever wrong, he prayed this would be one time they were.

**Chapter 8**

Harm followed Mac back to her office.

"Are you going to be all right?" Harm crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"Harm, I'm a marine. Of course I'm going to be all right," she huffed.

"Well, all the same, what do you say to going out tonight and doing something fun?" Harm wasn't convinced she was okay.

"It's a school night, dear." Mac shot him a sarcastic glare.

"I know, but we deserve it. Nothing too fancy."

"I'd really rather just stay in and unwind. How about a rain check and we can unwind on Saturday. It's been a long time since I've taken out my bicycle, we could spend the day on the trails that start at Rock Creek." The tension in Mac's shoulders was slowly fading.

"I don't think that would be considered appropriate behavior for someone in your condition," Harm suggested very carefully.

"Ugggh, all right." Mac rolled her eyes, raising her hand to rub away the frustration.

"Dinner at my place tonight and we'll work on plans for Saturday," Harm smiled brightly, gave Mac a reassuring nod, and backed out of her office before she could refuse.

Mac forced a smile for Harm's sake. When he was out of sight, she looked over at her computer screen. What had they gotten themselves into?

**Saturday afternoon **

**George Washington's house**

**Mount Vernon, VA.**

"This was most definitely a unique idea," Mac smiled, following Harm up to the main gate ticket window at the edge of the large parking lot.

"Most people never find time to do the tourist things in their home town. I've always meant to come here but never have made the time for it." Placing his wallet in his pocket, "Come on, it's a bit of a hike to the house." Harm flashed Mac an honest grin and stretched his hand out beside him for her to take hold of.

Warmed from head to toe by the simple gesture, Mac eagerly accepted the proffered hand and began their stroll up the hill to the main house. The only saving grace to this ludicrous scheme of theirs was the amount of time they were spending together off duty. The rhythm of old had returned. They were once again functioning like a fine tuned musical instrument, even finishing, or starting, depending on how you looked at it, each other's sentences.

Other than the short make out session in the park, this was the first overt gesture of closeness in public they'd shared. Each of them felt the pressure of the assignment fade away as they drew on the strength the other's hand offered. There was no pretense in the closeness displayed. The best friends were back in full force, maybe stronger. Mac enjoyed the moment for all it was worth.

"Maybe, you should rest a minute," Harm suggested, exiting the large white house, they stood on the back porch looking out over the Potomac.

"Harm, we're not at work, you don't have to pretend now," Mac almost whined.

"I know, I'd like to think no one's watching us, but none the less, it wouldn't hurt to rest here a minute and just admire the view." Harm hoped he hadn't ruined the day by bringing up the idea of being watched.

"It is breathtaking isn't it," Mac sighed, ignoring the thought of someone watching them, she stared out where Harm was focused.

"It certainly makes you understand why this was George's favorite place on earth."

"Everything else seems so far away, so unimportant from here, doesn't it?" Mac was still staring at the flowing river across from them. "It's nice that they don't allow development on the other side of the shore. It wouldn't be the same to look out and be staring at a condominium complex or shopping mall."

Harm let out a short chuckle. "No, that would definitely change the impact."

A few minutes later, he turned to Mac. "Are you ready to head down to the cemetery?"

"Sounds, good. I've had enough resting." Mac shook her head and reached for Harm's hand. She didn't notice the small smile that tugged at the edges of his mouth. He had hoped she didn't mind his holding her hand earlier, now, he felt a thrill rush from his belly when she extended her hand to him. It amazed him how many women he'd known through the years, some more than others, and yet all Mac had to do to start butterflies swooping in his stomach was offer to hold his hand.

After spending a few hours wandering around the expansive grounds and taking in all the different relics of the nation's history, Mac happily collapsed in the front seat of the SUV.

"I'm sure glad Bud and Harriet invited us over for a barbecue, I don't think I could find the energy to cook tonight," Mac smirked.

"What, as if you ever cook," Harm laughed.

"Watch it, sailor. I still pack a mean left hook." Mac tried to look seriously offended, truth was she rarely cooked and if the Roberts hadn't invited them they'd most likely be doing take out.

**Roberts Residence**

**1545 hours**

"Mom, mom! They're here!" AJ hollered through the house. He'd been anxiously waiting for Uncle Harm and Aunt Mac by the living room window off and on for the better part of the afternoon. Finding his mom in the kitchen, he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to the front door.

Laughing to herself at her son's enthusiasm, Harriet stood at the front door waiting for her friends to make their way up the front path. As they reached the front steps, Harriet noticed Harm's hand had snaked its way from the small of Mac's back to around her waist.

"Glad you guys made it," Harriet smiled, stepping aside so AJ could give them a proper welcome. Harm didn't move his hand until Mac bent over to hug AJ. Tilting her head slightly in thought, Harriet only wasted a minute contemplating the scene before her, something told her this wasn't acting. Hearing the calls of a fussy toddler, Harriet forced her curiosity to the back of her mind somewhere, hoping what ever was going on, it was something good.

Not too much later, Harm found himself alone outside with Bud.

"I've been wanting to ask you, have you gotten any word on the photos?"

Looking around to make sure the women were still busy elsewhere, Bud proceeded to update his friend.

"Not much. As you suspected, there were no fingerprints of any kind on the envelopes or photos, other than those of us at JAG. The scan of the Colonel's apartment showed no signs of any surveillance equipment either. I was able to get a hold of the building owner across the street late Friday afternoon. There's only one building who's positioning fits the line of sight for the photos. They had to have been taken from either the second or third floor."

"Could he help us?" Harm asked, keeping his eye on the backdoor in case Harriet or Mac came out.

"Well, they've gotten three new tenants in the last year, but only one rented an apartment that could have taken those photos. His name is Robert Hatcher. He appears to be an ordinary 32 year old, white male with no criminal record, not even parking tickets." Flipping the burgers, bud paused to put cheese on the them. "Want some cheese on your veggie burger, sir?"

"Yeah, thanks," Harm nodded.

"I've gone ahead and sent his name through NCIS to see if they have anything. If you think it's warranted, I could run this past Agent Novak." Bud raised a doubtful eyebrow, he knew Harm only turned to the FBI as a last resort.

"No, let's wait and see what else turns up on this guy first," Harm sighed, as much as he was enjoying the opportunity to be close to Mac again, something about all this just wasn't sitting right. Staring blankly at the back door Harm was brought back to the present by the sound of Bud's voice.

"Foods up! Come and get it!"


	2. Chapter 9 thru 16

**Chapter 9**

**Harm's office**

**A few weeks later **

"Remind me again why the Admiral gave us the Ryan appeal?" Mac grumbled while untaping another box of files. "This makes how many boxes, eight?"

"Just pray Ensign Parks doesn't locate any more boxes or we'll be reviewing the files in the hallway." Glancing quickly through the contents of the box, Harm closed it and shifted it onto the 'to be reviewed in more detail later' pile. Turning around to retrieve another box, Harm saw Mac carrying the box she'd been rummaging through over to the same pile.

"Careful, Mac! What do you think you're doing!" Harm exclaimed, snatching the box from her. "You shouldn't be doing that."

"Doing what?" Mac furrowed her brow curiously. Understanding suddenly dawning, "Harmon Rabb, Jr. Have you completely lost your mind? There isn't anyone in this room except you and me. No one can see us. Of course I can lift the damn box!"

"Sorry, Mac, sometimes I forget." His voice came out soft and low, almost pained. Taking a step around the boxes to his desk, he sat down heavily. "Some days the line between reality and pretense gets awfully blurry." Harm had indeed taken Harriet's advice and often found himself thinking of Mac as really pregnant with his child. The thought filled him with a sense of pride and joy he had never imagined, only to be replaced by a gaping sense of loss when reality slapped him in the face, like now.

Feeling suddenly guilty for having jumped down his throat, "I shouldn't have gotten so upset. It's just so difficult having you pretend to be taking care of me all the time in front of everyone, I'm not used to it. I feel like what little value I have has been deemed inconsequential."

"Mac…" Harm got up and stepped closer to her, resting his hand on her fore arm, resisting the temptation to gently caress the side of her beautiful face.

"I know, it's silly and I'm sorry. I don't want to go into psychoanalysis here. I'm just sorry I lost my temper, please forgive me," Mac smiled.

"There's nothing to forgive, I think this whole waiting thing has us both a little on edge." Harm slowly let go of her arm.

"You're probably right." Mac reached for another box when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, sir. The Admiral wants to know why he hasn't seen the final report on the Clemmons case," Petty Officer Coates reported. "He said to tell you he wants it on his desk by close of day."

"Thank you. I'll take care of it," Harm sighed softly. "I'm going to have to leave you to scavenge on your own for a short while. I left all the papers on Clemmons at my place. I was going to finish it up tonight in a less cluttered environment. Obviously, that's not going to happen. I should be back within the hour." Harm grabbed his cover and nodded apologetically to Mac.

"No problem. If you don't see me when you get back just tell the Admiral the boxes swallowed me."

**Harm's apartment**

**30 minutes later**

Jingling his keys anxiously, Harm hurriedly undid the locks to his front door. Leaving the door wide open behind him, it took only a few short strides to reach his desk. Intending to grab the file and run, Harm stood suddenly still when he didn't see the file he was expecting on the desktop. Instead of the Clemmons' file sitting on top of the pile where he'd left it that morning, he saw the file for a DDO case against Petty Officer Brown.

"That's strange. Brown should be on the bottom," Harm muttered to himself. Something wasn't right here. Scanning the desk quickly, Harm noticed the bottom drawer was slightly open, definitely not the way he'd left it.

Stepping away from the desk, Harm turned back towards the door in time to see a metallic flash swinging towards him. Instinctively, he immediately shifted in an attempt to dodge the blow. Only partially successful, Harm's arm began to go numb at the impact of the shiny object against his shoulder.

With a loud grunt, Harm shoved against his assailant in an effort to gain some reaction time in preparation for whatever came next.

It wasn't enough, the shadowy figure had moved closer grabbing a hold of Harm. Using Harm's momentum, he swung Harm into the wall by the desk.

Momentarily stunned, lights danced in front of Harm's eyes when his head bounced off the wall. Shaking his head briefly to try and clear it, Harm turned to catch a glimpse just as the dark shadow swung again, this time connecting with the side of Harm's head before everything turned to black.

**Harm's office **

**JAG headquarters**

**50 minutes later**

Mac was starting to see double reading through all the files. Mattoni's chicken scratch was horrible enough to have been a doctor's handwriting. It had been an hour and 26 minutes since Harm went home to get the papers he needed. Three times in the last hour Mac had reached for the phone to call him. This time her crossed-eyes, and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, insisted she pick up the phone and follow through.

Not getting a response from his home phone or cell, Mac dialed Jennifer.

"Jen, have you heard from the Commander since he left to get the Clemmons' file?" Mac asked, tapping her fingers nervously on the desk.

"No, ma'am. Haven't seen or heard from him since I left you and him earlier."

Taking mere seconds to make up her mind. "If the Admiral wants either of us, tell him we've been lost in the archives searching for more files." Something wasn't right, she just knew it. "I should be back within the hour."

Grabbing her purse and cover, Mac made a beeline for the parking lot.

Stepping off the elevator, she wasn't at all surprised to see Harm's front door wide open. Approaching the door slowly, she wished that she'd had the good sense to bring a weapon. Listening for any sounds of activity, Mac inched her way into the room.

Turning to scan the apartment from the bedroom to the living room, all the blood rushed from her face when she spotted the limp body sprawled on the floor.

Making a dash to his side, she immediately forgot about the possibilities of anyone hiding somewhere in the apartment. Checking first for a pulse, she breathed easier until she saw the dark liquid pooling beside Harm's head.

Reaching around his body she touched the small puddle, as if there were any doubt it was going to be Harm's blood.

"Harm, can you hear me? Harm," she called tapping his face lightly. "Harm!"

Noticing the brass lamp base for the first time, lying not too far from the body, Mac cursed as she whipped out her cell phone.

Dialing the all too familiar 911, Mac grew impatient at the never ending ringing. What was the point of an emergency number if the system was always over worked.

Trying to remain calm watching Harm's lifeless body, Mac jumped at the sound of a human voice at the other end of the call. "This is Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the JAG corps. I need an ambulance right away."

**Chapter 10**

**George Washington Hospital**

**Emergency room**

"They've taken him inside. Tell the Admiral I'll inform him as soon as I hear anything." Mac finished her report to Petty Officer Coates, her eyes staring blankly at the double doors standing between her and Harm.

Heaving a deep sigh, tired of waiting, Mac strode up to the glass window. "Is there any news yet on Commander Harmon Rabb?"

"Military?" the woman asked without looking up.

Overcome with the urge to snap back- 'No Commander was his mother's favorite name, of course he's military.' Mac bit her tongue and drew on every ounce of patience she could muster.

"Yes. He was brought in over an hour ago, unconscious with a blow to the head."

"Should have gone to Bethesda." The woman still hadn't given Mac the courtesy of looking up.

"Well, he's here and I'd like to know how he is. NOW." She was quickly losing what little patience she had left.

"You family?"

"Almost, I also hold his medical power of attorney." Mac tried to refrain from adding any more colorful comments.

Looking up at her for the first time, the woman was obviously startled to realize she'd been talking to a female marine Lt. Colonel. "I…I'll see what I can find out," she stammered.

Mac stood, firmly planted in place waiting for the attendant to do just that.

Fifteen minutes later the woman returned, waving Mac to the double doors. "Go wait over there and I'll buzz you in."

Once inside, Mac proceeded directly to the nurse's station. "I'm looking for Commander Harmon Rabb."

Staring at Mac for a moment before turning to read the large white board on the wall, "Trauma room three," the petite nurse answered, pointing down the hall to her right.

What the hell was the matter with all these people? Hadn't they ever seen a female officer before? This was Washington for heaven's sake. High ranking officers are everywhere. Lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed the staff huddle by the nurse's desk.

"Did you see her? I knew they had women in the military but, damn, that woman should be on the cover of Glamour," the petite nurse remarked.

"Who is she?" The only male nurse on the floor asked.

"She's here with the hunky Commander that came in unconscious," an older woman answered from her spot in front of the trauma board.

"Maggie, you've been married thirty years, you're not supposed to be looking," the receptionist teased.

"Honey, I may be getting older, but my eyes work fine," she laughed. What's good for the goose is certainly good for the gander, she thought.

"I didn't notice a ring, so they're not married," the petite nurse mentioned, still holding out hope to get friendlier with the hunk.

"Well, if they ain't married then they must be engaged cause when I asked if she was family, she said almost," the receptionist volunteered.

"Damn. Good ones are always taken," the petite nurse sighed, grabbing a clipboard and moving away from the crowd.

"I resent that," the very single male nurse chuckled.

"And well you should," the receptionist called over her shoulder, laughing her way back to her desk.

**Trauma room three**

**George Washington Hospital**

Mac walked into the large room, past the empty bed and over to the drawn curtain. Stepping quietly around she was relieved to find Harm staring at the ceiling.

"Well, I'm glad to see that hard head of yours is good for something," Mac smiled.

Harm started to chuckle, only to be stopped immediately by the throbbing pain at the back of his head.

"Please, don't make me laugh," Harm squinted.

Frightened by the distressed look on his face, Mac stepped up against the bed. Rubbing her hand across his forehead, she delicately began stroking his hair. "Sorry, sailor. I wasn't thinking."

The young resident walked in just in time to see Mac lean down and give Harm a tender kiss on the forehead. The nurses were probably right, definitely fiancée, he thought.

"All right, Commander, I've arranged for you to have a room with us for the night." Raising his hand at Harm's obviously eminent protest. "Don't bother arguing with me. By the time you're back from having your head examined," the young man chuckled at his own pun, "you're room will probably be ready."

Not realizing she was still stroking Harm's hair, Mac placed her free hand on Harm's and squeezed tightly. "You need a good night's rest anyway."

"We just want to make sure there's no internal hemorrhaging or other problems. That was quite a blow you took, you were out for at least two hours according to our calculations. Besides the obvious concussion, you've had 28 stitches." Looking down, the doctor scribbled some additional notes before returning the clipboard to its rightful place at the foot of the bed.

Drawing the curtain back to a fully open position, the doctor looked at Mac, "You can wait here with your fiancé if you like until they come and get him for his scan." Smiling at the two, the doctor turned and walked out the door without ever noticing the shocked look on the two startled friends.

Watching the doctor's retreating form turn the corner, Harm and Mac faced each other.

"Why does he think I'm your fiancé?" Harm asked, hoping the bump on his head hadn't caused him to forget something rather important, or maybe hoping it had.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Mac answered turning to stare at the empty doorway as if it would provide some illusive answer.

She had to admit. The thought wasn't a bad one. She could think of worse things than being engaged to Harmon Rabb. For just a minute she let her mind wander to what it might be like to be Harm's fiancée, the woman he wanted to marry, to have his children, to share his life, his home, his…oh, maybe this wasn't the time or place to let her mind go there.

Harm had let his mind wander to the same place. His cheeks flushing with embarrassment when he realized Mac was just staring at him as he allowed himself to dream of a life with her.

Neither one had noticed that Mac had not stopped stroking his hair, or holding his hand the entire time the doctor had been with them. Even now, they were perfectly comfortable with, and oblivious to, the comforting gestures.

"If you think you're up to it, maybe you should tell me what happened."

"There's not much to tell. I came into the apartment to get the file and when I reached the desk, it wasn't directly on top where I'd left it. Before I had time to look around, I was fighting off a bright flash and a large shadow. Almost immediately I got hit on the back of the head and the next thing I know, I was waking up here with some tiny woman smiling at me."

"You didn't see anyone?"

"No, barely saw a shadow before I went down."

"I didn't really have a lot of time to look around, I didn't notice if anything was missing," Mac shrugged.

"I don't think this was an ordinary break in, Mac. Why would a burglar take time to look through the files on my desk and then stack them neatly in the wrong order? I noticed one of the drawers was slightly open. I didn't get a chance to see if anything was missing, but it's the drawer I keep my dad's tapes in. People who break into homes in my neighborhood aren't noted for being very neat about it. I don't think I was supposed to know someone had ever been there."

"Do you think this has something to do with our friendly extortionist?" The crease in Mac's brow deepened.

"Could be. When I get home tomorrow, I'll check out if anything's missing. Then we'll arrange for another sweep of the apartment." Harm closed his eyes, fighting the urge to go to sleep.

"Sorry to break this up folks, but we've got an appointment upstairs." A young orderly with a wheel chair smiled.

Forced to let go of his hand in order to step away, Mac realized for the first time, she must have been holding it the entire time. Giving one last sweep through his hair, she backed away from the bed letting the orderly help Harm up.

Feeling a cold chill at the physical loss of Mac's touch, Harm's eyes locked onto Mac's for just a moment. No wonder the doctor had thought there was more between them. What he wouldn't give for it to be true.

**Chapter 11**

**Admiral Chegwidden's office**

**Two days later**

"This is unacceptable people." Chegwidden huffed, tossing a file on his desk.

Bud, Harm, and Mac were still standing at ease in front of the Admiral's desk.

"What exactly did this email say, Colonel?"

"Good thing lover boy has a hard head, and of course, those new photos were attached." Pointing at the file the Admiral had tossed on his desk, Mac straightened her shoulders trying not to let her CO see how much the email had shaken her.

AJ paused to consider the new photos. How did someone manage to get a clear shot of Harm and Mac at the ER without anyone noticing something strange? Although, from the looks of the photos, a pink elephant could have entered that trauma room and his two senior officers wouldn't have noticed anything but each other. Mac's concern for Harm was clear, there was no acting involved. That's part of what made this whole thing so damn annoying, they really were perfect for this assignment, and each other.

"Lt. Roberts, what did the new sweep of the apartments turn up? Any fingerprints?" AJ turned to face Bud, his lips pressed together tightly.

"Nothing, sir, on both counts. Not a single print anywhere, not even on the lamp. If the intention was to bug the apartment in some way, they might have changed their minds when the Commander walked in on them."

"They could have just been searching for incriminating evidence," Harm offered.

"Or they could have been waiting to teach you a lesson. This is simply getting too dangerous. If I could think of some way to get you out of this, I'd pull the plug on the entire operation." AJ sat down rubbing his temples. Waving his hand, "Sit down," he sighed, irritated his instincts were panning out. This was obviously more than a simple blackmail ring, but what?

The three officers took a seat in front of the obviously stressed admiral.

"That really isn't necessary, sir. Harm and I understand the lengths these people are willing to go to. We won't be caught off guard again, sir." Deep down, Mac didn't want this little charade to end. She was finally comfortable in the role and had grown quite fond of it. She just wished she could shake the creepy feeling she got from knowing their every move was obviously being followed. Anytime old fears of Coster and being stalked tried to emerge, Harm was right there to squelch them and keep her strong. Knowing Harm was at her side was keeping her emotionally sane. The perks weren't bad either.

"I agree sir, the Colonel and I can see this through." Harm apparently felt the same way. Since his affection for Mac was anything but acting, he was enjoying the liberty of being able to touch and care for her that this assignment allowed.

"Are we making any progress at all?" AJ asked, obviously frustrated.

"Well, sir. Certain possibilities are starting to come together. I think I may have located another early retiree that fits the bill for a victim," Bud reported.

"Okay, what have you got?" AJ leaned back in his chair hoping for something solid.

"Well, sir, one of the men on the list, a Colonel Thomas Jefferson Edelhaus with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, returned from Iraq six months ago. He's been an exemplary officer, on the list for possible candidates for Military Liaison to Homeland Security. He's only thirty eight, sir."

"And he's a full bird?" AJ interrupted.

"Yes, sir. Battle field promotions, with enough fruit salad to give you or the Commander a run for your money." Bud smiled before realizing to whom he was speaking. "Sorry, sir."

"What makes him any different than the rest?" Mac spoke up before the Admiral could say anything.

"Besides his young age, I also spoke with his wife. Apparently she's had a difficult time being a military wife. She couldn't stand the worrying and waiting. Shortly before he deployed to Iraq, they separated. She made it quite clear the only reason she was leaving him was because of the Corps. Somewhere along the line she managed to communicate that it didn't matter, she still loved him, not being together didn't lessen her fears. She had thought his reason for retiring was to win her back, but she hasn't seen or heard from him since he told her he was retiring. She says he came back a changed man, sir. Not in the good sense either. She's worried about him." Bud sat ramrod straight under the Admiral's scrutiny.

Nodding his head in agreement. "You may very well be onto something Lieutenant. Keep at it. Maybe this Colonel can tell us something we don't already know," AJ sighed.

"There's more, sir," Bud interrupted.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" AJ was in a foul mood and not trying to hide it.

"I did a little further digging on Robert Hatcher, the man we suspect took the photos of the Commander and Colonel in her apartment. He works for a company called New Horizons. It's a Paul Healy company."

"The dotcom guy?" Harm queried.

"Yes, Mr. Hatcher is only listed as a consultant, but the curious thing is, I can't find what New Horizons does. Paul Healy made all his money selling his company, before the bubble burst. I've got a physical address and list of company officers, but can't find any business connections to imply what they're actually doing," Bud said obviously frustrated.

Sighing heavily, "It sounds like we're going to have to bring Novak into this," Harm told Bud.

"Agreed," AJ nodded. "I don't like this, the more people involved, the more likely we are of springing a leak. Lieutenant, give Agent Novak as little information as necessary. Maybe we can get what we need without letting him in on our little farce. See what else you can find on this Paul Healy too." AJ reached into his desk drawer pulling out a large bottle of aspirin.

"Is this Hatcher person still living across from the Colonel?"

"Yes, sir. We don't have enough probable cause to issue a search warrant. He hasn't made any attempt to move, so he must not realize we're onto him," Bud supplied.

"Or he doesn't care," AJ growled, swallowing three aspirins. "Who's keeping an eye on him?"

"No one, sir," Harm answered this time in an attempt to take some of the heat off of Bud.

AJ dropped his jaw, his eyes filled with incredulity.

"What do you mean no one? The only probable connection to all this and he's not being watched! I don't care who you get on this but I want that man followed. Understood!"

"Yes, sir," the three responded loudly.

"I'm sure Novak will be able to put someone on it, sir," Harm added.

"Make it so, people," AJ shook his head. "Dismissed. And be careful!"

**Chapter 12**

**Mac's apartment**

**Later that night**

Mac sat comfortably on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee. The drapes in the bedroom and living room were drawn closed. Harm had taken the liberty of hanging an extra lining to keep out the light much like those used in hotels. In this case it wasn't the light they wanted to keep out as much as prying eyes.

"You okay?" Harm asked from the chair.

"It just feels like this has been the longest six weeks of my life." Mac half grinned, stretching her neck from side to side, delighted with the hot cup of coffee.

"Here, scoot over." Harm waved his arm, walking over to sit behind her on the couch. Slowly he began massaging her shoulders, paying extra attention to the knots at the base of her neck.

"Oh, you don't know how much I needed that." Mac smiled, her head dropping loosely. "I'd forgotten what great hands you have."

Harm smiled at the compliment, making a conscious effort not to let his mind wander off on all he'd like to do to her with his hands.

"I guess this has been pretty rough on you." Harm's smile faded.

"It's not that bad, it's just there's no point. I'm not pregnant." Mac turned her head slightly in an attempt to peek at Harm through her peripheral vision. "I wouldn't mind people bringing me tea, offering me their chairs, or even carrying my briefcase if I had a good reason. The other day I thought Petty Officer O'Reilly was going to kill himself trying to get to a box of files before I did. It just doesn't seem right."

"All I get is an occasional dirty look. I think scuttlebutt is leaning towards I don't want to do right by you." Harm dropped his voice in an attempt at humor.

"That's ridiculous. You'll be an excellent father. You'd never ignore your own child." Mac let out a low groan as Harm worked out a particularly tight knot.

"Is that too hard?" He paused. Besides concern he was being too rough, the sound of her moan had sent an unexpected surge of excitement through him. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to refocus on the situation at hand.

"No, it's a good sore," she smiled.

"It doesn't appear to be linked to my not wanting the baby, I think the word is I won't marry you." Harm wondered how anyone could know him as many years as most of these people did and still think he wouldn't want to be with Sarah MacKenzie for all eternity.

"I haven't heard that." Mac pulled away far enough to turn and look at him.

"Jennifer told me last week. Harriet confirmed it yesterday. I guess you don't spend enough time eaves dropping in the ladies room," Harm smiled, reaching over to pull her back and continue her shoulder rub. The intention may have been to relieve her stress but the feel of her soft shoulders under his fingertips was doing wonders for his stress level too.

Instead of falling back at his touch, Mac turned completely, resting her hand on his lap. Before she could say anything, Harm spoke.

"You can't blame them, Mac. It's been six weeks since we started this charade. The choices are either you don't want to marry me or I don't want to marry you. Since neither one of us is even admitting you're pregnant, people find it easier to assume I'm the cad." He rolled his eyes with a half shrug and tried to pull her around to rub her shoulders again.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know that must bother you to have people think anything less than honorably of you."

"I don't really care what people think of me. I'm more concerned with how it reflects on you. How could anyone think I wouldn't want you." Harm paled suddenly at the realization of what he'd just admitted.

Mac stared intently into Harm's clear gaze, searching for some indication of just how seriously to interpret his last comment. There had always been an underlying something between them; neither of them could deny that. Could it be Harm was finally ready to let go? She sighed inwardly, terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing.

"That may very well be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," she smiled softly, passing her hand slowly across his face.

Right now the last thing Harm wanted to do was say the wrong thing and piss off his marine. He wanted desperately to just tell her how much he loved her, how he wished she really were carrying his child.

"It shouldn't be such a surprise. I mean, I like taking care of you. I especially like the idea of taking care of you and our child." Harm stared into Mac's eyes hoping he hadn't said too much.

"Sometimes, when I remember this is all just an act," Mac paused to take a deep breath, "I wish I really were carrying your child."

"We did have a deal," Harm whispered. Their eyes locked on each other, neither blinking.

"We do," Mac corrected softly, the intensity of their gaze growing exponentially.

Unable to contain the swell of emotions bottled up inside him, Harm leaned forward ever so slowly and captured her lips in his.

Harm had caught her completely off guard. She hadn't been expecting him to kiss her. Of course, she hadn't expected him to admit that he might actually want her either. At the feel of his moist lips against hers, she snaked her arms tightly around his neck. Their lips lightly tasting and caressing each other.

Fully prepared to deepen the sweet kiss, Harm and Mac were startled apart by the ringing of the phone.

"Colonel MacKenzie," Mac answered.

"Commander Rabb, please."

"It's for you." Mac handed the phone over to Harm.

"Rabb."

"You know, you really should be more careful. That's how you two got into this predicament in the first place," the muffled voice announced smugly.

Harm pulled away from Mac, scanning the windows, then the rest of the walls. "Don't you have anything better to do?" Harm barked into the phone.

The hairs on the back of Mac's neck were on full alert at the tone of his voice.

"Now, now, Commander. You wouldn't want to upset me would you? What would the Admiral think of his two best senior officer's playing house?"

Harm cursed himself for not having allowed Bud to get Novak involved earlier, they could have had a trace on this line and been tracking the man down already.

"What do you want?" Harm asked curtly.

"Not much. Fifteen thousand dollars, in small unmarked bills of course," the voice laughed heartily on the other end.

Before Harm could respond.

"You'll have three days to get the money together… or else." Then the phone went dead.

**Chapter 13**

**Mac's apartment**

**Same time**

Mac stared at Harm waiting for him to say something. She had a pretty good idea who the call had been from.

"Damn," Harm let slip under his breath.

"What?"

"Either that is one very lucky bastard, or he's still watching us."

"Why?" Mac didn't mean to be monosyllabic.

Taking a deep breath, "He knew we were kissing."

"How?" Irritated by her own one word responses, "I mean, how could he know?"

"I don't know. He just said this is what got us into trouble in the first place." Harm ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Stopping to really look at Mac, Harm recognized the frozen look in her eyes. It was the same look she'd had so many years ago. Taking two short strides to where she was standing, Harm reached out, pulling her into his arms.

"Oh, Mac. I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair. "Maybe you should come stay with me for a little while. For whatever reason, they don't seem to be watching my place."

Drawing her strength from his tight embrace. "No, I wouldn't let Coster chase me away from my home, I won't let this creep chase me away either." She may have sounded tough, but she wasn't ready to let go of him. She was still hanging on tightly, her face buried in his shirt, the scent of his cologne a comforting tranquilizer.

"Maybe I should stay?" He didn't want to let her go, but he most definitely didn't want to leave her alone.

"No, this isn't the same thing. It's not you or me this guy wants. He's after something else and we just have to put up with him until we figure out what." Reassured by her own words and Harm's concern, she found the strength to pull away.

"What do you think of this. I'll give Bud a quick call while you put on another pot of coffee. I want to make sure that Novak puts a tap on all our phones so we're ready for the next time this bozo calls. Then, we'll sit back down and watch a movie, and this weekend you and I will go have some fun at the County Fair?" Harm was grinning at her like a little kid. She might not let him stay the night, but he was going to stay with her as long as she allowed.

"I think we could use a fun filled afternoon," Mac agreed enthusiastically. They'd had such a nice day the last time they'd gotten away from the job for a day.

**JAG Headquarters**

**Mac's office**

**Two days later**

Mac had been working on her closing arguments for Lt. Commander Simpson's case for the last two hours. With the ransom drop looming over them, she was having a horrible time concentrating. This was the fourth draft she'd crumpled and tossed in the wastebasket across the room.

"Not bad," a familiar voice sounded from the doorway. "Didn't realize basketball might be another one of your many talents."

"I didn't hear you come in," Mac sighed.

"I gathered as much. I hear things around here are keeping you pretty busy."

"Yes, and I'm up against a deadline for this damn closing argument that just won't come together. Is there something in particular I can do for you?" Mac knew she was being unfairly curt, but she just didn't have the patience today.

"I was hoping you might be free for dinner tonight."

"Clay, do I really look like someone who is going to have free time for dinner tonight?" She stared at him pointedly, waving her hands over the mounds of paper on her desk. "I've got a lot of work that isn't getting done, and I'm not going anywhere until it does."

A look of sincere concern washed over his face as he stepped closer to her desk.

"You really shouldn't be working this hard, Mac. It's not healthy for you. Besides, you have to eat at some point. Let me take you for a quick bite." Clay's voice was low and almost pleading.

"I can't. You know me, I never skip a meal, I'll order something in," Mac smiled, a little touched by his concern.

"I could bring you something, what would you like? Italian?"

"Clay…" She really wasn't up to dealing with him on top of everything else.

"Just friends, Sarah. You have to eat." He'd heard the rumors like everyone else and didn't want her running herself down.

"I promise, I'll eat. Since when are you so concerned about my eating habits anyway?" Mac asked, suddenly curious.

"There's nothing unusual about my interest in you, you know that." His eyes locked onto hers, not missing the way his words made her shift uncomfortably in her chair.

"Well, yes, but surely you didn't come all this way to make sure I'd be eating dinner?"

"No, I have a file I wanted to give Rabb. I thought I'd see if maybe you had changed your mind about us."

"CLAY…"

"I know, but you can't blame a guy for trying," he forced a smile. "You keep working on that argument. If you change you're mind, you know where to find me," Clay nodded and turned towards Harm's office.

**Harm's office**

**Same time**

Looking up from his desk. "Good God, what are you doing here?" Harm grumbled. He didn't need this. It was already a long two days and he most definitely did not need Clayton Webb.

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Rabb." Clay shook his head. "I thought you might want to see this." He tossed the file he'd been carrying onto Harm's desk.

"What's this?" Harm took the file and began browsing through the pages.

"Admiral Walter Kensingtonthe Executive Director of Naval Intelligence, committed suicide last night. No note."

"What does this have to do with me?" Harm was still glancing through the file.

"We've had our eye on him for several months. We had it from reliable sources that he has been selling secrets, valuable secrets, to some not very nice people. When his body was found slumped over his desk this morning, his file found it's way to me."

Harm was still waiting for Clay to get to the point.

"Look at his bank statements." Clay raised his chin at the file in Harm's hands. "Notice anything unusual for a spy?"

"There are no large unexplained deposits." Harm looked up at Clay his interest suddenly peaked. "Did he have another account?"

"No." Clay set his hands on Harm's desk waiting for him to spot the obvious.

"He's had regular large sum withdrawals, ten or fifteen thousand dollars, every month for almost eight months." Harm let out a slow, long whistle.

"I think he might be part of your blackmail problem from a couple of months ago." Clay straightened up, a slight smirk on his face. "Oh, and I understand congratulations are in order."

"For what?" Harm dragged his eyes away from the file, surprised to see an obvious glare of disdain directed at him.

"You arrogant, …" Clay pressed his lips taking in a deep breath. "Just remember, if you don't want her there are some of us who are more than willing to step up to the plate and take care of her."

"Don't believe everything you hear, Webb," Harm said sharply, trying not to lose his cool at the implied threat.

Turning towards the door, Clay stopped to look back at Harm.

"Just remember, I'm man enough to be here waiting when she needs me." With one last icy stare, Clay turned away making his way through the bullpen.

**Chapter 14**

**Mac's office**

**A short time later**

"The nerve of that arrogant little twerp," Harm spat as he paced the floor. "Implying I wan't man enough to take care of you."

With scuttlebutt already being more than she could take, Mac stood up and closed the blinds to her office. She didn't need to have people's imagination running wild as to why Harm was ranting in her office right after Clayton had left his.

"How darehe insinuate I would just knock you up and then walk away." Harm was seeing red.

Mac smiled to herself. She hadn't realized Clayton knew, or thought he knew, she was pregnant when he invited her to dinner and asked for another chance. The entire situation seemed pleasantly noble to her. She wouldn't admit it to Harm, but it was almost as flattering as his current reaction. They were both pretty noble men.

Noticing his pace slowing, she made an attempt at changing the subject. "Is everything set for tomorrow."

Freezing in place, Harm looked up at her as though she'd spoken to him in Farsi.

"What?" His brow furrowed into a human question mark.

"The drop tomorrow. Is everything ready?" How could he forget? Heaven help her, nothing like two bulls on testosterone overload.

"Oh, yes. I picked up the money from the Sec Nav myself this morning. It's in the Admiral's safe until we need it tomorrow. I also stopped and picked up a black Samsonite hardcover briefcase as per the instructions." Harm had hoped that having the phones tapped would have allowed them to find the guy without going through with the ransom. Unfortunately, he sent the instructions for the drop by mail. No fingerprints of course.

"What about Novak, are his men going to be in place?"

"Everything is set. Bud and I have reservations at the Red Coach Grill. I'll check the briefcase in with the coat check and then after lunch, Bud and I will join Novak's men for surveillance."

"What about inside?" Mac knew that Harm would be sure to have every detail covered but she couldn't think of any other way besides talking about the drop to keep him from harping on Webb, well, at least not anything she could do in uniform.

"Novak's placed two people as busboys to work the lunch and dinner shift. They'll keep an eye on the coat room after we leave." Harm had stopped pacing and was standing only a few inches away from Mac.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper. I shouldn't let Webb get to me. It's just with all the scuttlebutt and the drop tomorrow, I didn't need him in my face." Harm felt it was better not to mention how he hated the thought of Webb having become a rival for Mac's affections.

**Red Coach Grill**

**Next afternoon**

"I don't suppose the Sec Nav is picking up the tab for this as well?" Bud mumbled. Standing just inside the doorway, he waited patiently for Harm to check in the briefcase.

"I understand those kids make really good tips," Bud mentioned on their way to be seated.

"I wouldn't know." Harm tried to scan the crowd inconspicuously.

"When I was in high school I had a friend who worked a coat check on Sunday afternoons. She cleaned up. They got to keep the tips, and unlike the waitresses, they don't have to share with anyone."

"She?" Harm teased.

"Yes, sir. I mean, nothing special. Not that she wasn't special, she was a really good friend, she just wasn't…"

"I know, Bud. It's okay," Harm smiled, nodding his head at his younger colleague. It was still so easy to fluster Bud when it came to certain subjects and the opposite sex was always an easy mark.

"Do you recognize anyone, sir?" Bud asked, placing his napkin on his lap.

"No, I didn't get to meet any of Novak's men." Harm looked around the restaurant over the top of his menu. His eyes returning constantly to the coat check.

"We might as well try and enjoy ourselves, Bud. There isn't much we can do until we hear from Novak."

Harm kept a discreet eye on the coat room while he and Bud dragged their lunch out as long as humanly possible.

"You never did tell me, sir, is the Sec Nav picking up the tab for this?"

"I'm expensing it out as I would with any JAG man investigation," Harm shrugged, still keeping one eye on the coat room.

"Well, in that case. I think I'll have another piece of pie," Bud smiled heartily at Harm. "Hollow leg you know."

Harm chuckled at his friend's sense of humor. Bud had proven himself to be an officer and a gentleman of the highest caliber, truly tested under fire.

By 1430, Harm and Bud had made their way to Novak's van. The Red Coach Grill was an elegant old restaurant nestled along the River. Adding to its charm was the large park directly across the street. Novak's van was hidden among the many vehicles parked on the opposite side of the park.

Harm, Bud, Novak, and Agent Weston kept their eyes focused on the large oak double doors. At 1500, most of the staff turned over. The lunch crew had gone home, and one by one the dinner staff had arrived. Briefly they watched the young man from the coat check room stop at the park for a quick round of basketball.

When school let out at 1530, you would have thought every child in the neighborhood stopped to play at the park. There were moms with strollers scattered along the benches letting their older children run off whatever excess energy they might have left. A few joggers meandered through the small park as well as residents who walked or played fetch with their dogs.

At 1625 the calm was broken with a piercing scream. A single woman and her golden retriever were standing on the opposite corner of the park by a large oak tree. The woman had her hands up to her mouth and was screaming bloody murder. The dog was turning his head back and forth sniffing between his master and the tree.

Immediately, everyone except Agent Weston flew from the van to join the growing crowd around the frantic woman. Reaching the scene first, Harm closed his eyes in frustration. The young man who had worked the coat check room lay twisted on the ground. His neck obviously snapped.

Taking his radio out of his back pocket. "Ramirez, this is base, has anyone taken the present?" Novak inquired.

"No, we're still waiting for the birthday boy," the voice echoed back.

"Check the package. Make sure no one has changed the wrapping paper," Novak ordered.

A few minutes later the voice sounded back through the plastic communicator. "Empty."

"Damn," Novak spit. "He's got it."

**Chapter 15**

**Saturday afternoon**

**Arlington County Fair**

Harm looked absolutely adorable carrying around the oversized panda bear. As a child Mac had always envied the people who walked the parks with the large prizes. She often thought they were ringers sent out to entice the crowd. Deep down she didn't believe anyone actually won. She was thoroughly delighted to discover she was thoroughly wrong.

Having already eaten her way through the corn dogs and two caramel apples, Mac was now working on a large fluffy pink cloud of cotton candy.

"How do you eat all that sugar?" Harm rolled his eyes in mock horror.

"It's a carnival tradition Harm. You're breaking with tradition you know," Mac informed him with a look of studied superiority.

"Right," Harm drawled, obviously unconcerned about his infraction. "You know what else is a tradition at carnivals?"

"What?" Mac eyed Harm warily.

"Ferris wheels." Harm pointed at the large wheel ahead with an impish grin.

"Harmon Rabb! Planning on getting me airsick so you can take advantage of me? It's not a tomcat," Mac teased saucily, shaking a cotton candy covered finger at him.

"Mac, Me? Never. Besides, if anyone knows the Ferris wheel is no tomcat, it's me." Harm gestured towards the gate for boarding the ride. "Shall we?"

"You know how much I love Ferris wheels. You're using your knowledge against me, aren't you?"

"Mac, you know I would never do that." Harm did his best to feign innocence. If only he could use his knowledge of her to give her everything she wanted.

"Alright then, but you have to behave yourself," Mac warned, chuckling loudly as Harm slapped his open palm against his chest, his eyes shining bright and wide with mischief.

While Mac boarded the car, Harm stopped to give the tickets to the operator. With a quick glance at Mac devouring pieces of her cotton candy while she waited for him, Harm smiled to himself. What the hell, if it worked when he was a teenager, it might work now. Quickly reaching into his pocket, Harm turned back towards the operator. "Hey, pal. Think you could do me a favor?" Harm slipped him a twenty dollar bill.

"How long?" The operator asked incredulously. He doubted this guy needed to 'arrange' for time alone with women, ever.

"Whatever you think is appropriate. Thanks," Harm winked. Setting the panda down on the bench, he boarded the car with Mac.

Slowly they began to rise up in the air. Harm smiled when he felt Mac slide closer to him on the seat.

"Man, I love the view from these things." Harm's eyes danced with enthusiasm.

"You just like to be higher than everyone else." Mac waved airily as she delicately pulled more cotton candy off the cloud. "You sure you don't want any of this?"

"Maaac, me and sugary, unhealthy products?"

"Oh, come on, Harm." Mac pouted, flashing her puppy dog eyes at him. She couldn't believe she was acting this way, but there was something about being at the fair with Harm after all the pressure that made her feel like letting go. "Please?"

Heaving a deep sigh, Harm caved. "Fine. One piece." He pulled off some of the fluffy spun sugar.

"Here, have this piece." Mac waved the glob she held in her hand at him. "Oops," she giggled, thumping the chunk of sugar squarely on Harm's nose.

"Funny, Marine. Funny," Harm said, as he pulled the sticky substance off his nose. Plopping it in his mouth, he smiled at her.

The car suddenly lurched to a stop just as they reached the top of the wheel. Mac narrowed her eyes glaring at Harm and his questionable look of shock. "You didn't happen to arrange this, did you?"

"Me? Would I do that?"

"Yes, you would. I know you Harm, remember?"

"You've got me all wrong, Colonel. I am the very definition of the modern officer and a gentleman."

"Right," Mac teased. "Well, at least if we're going to be stuck, we have some food.**"**

"Absolutely," Harm smirked. Pulling some cotton candy off of the cloud Mac held, he dropped it squarely on her nose.

"Harm!" Mac squealed.

"Fair's fair, Marine."

Chuckling, she wiped the candy off her nose and proceeded to slowly lick it off her fingers, coyly watching him through her lashes.

"Oh, see now THAT'S not fair," Harm groaned.

"Would you like some?" Mac asked in a low, husky voice holding out her fingers. It might have been the massive amounts of sugar she'd ingested since they arrived, but Mac didn't know or care what was coming over her. It was so much fun to flirt with Harm this way

"Well, if you're offering," Harm whispered.

Slowly Mac pulled a piece of the candy off the stick and held it out towards Harm. She barely contained a gasp when he leaned forward and proceeded to very slowly suck the pink sugar off her fingers. Long past the consumption of the last bit of the candy Harm finally gave her fingers a last gentle lick and sat back up with a slow smile playing over his lips as he gazed deeply into her eyes.

Absently and breathless, Mac mechanically pulled off another piece of the candy bringing it to her mouth.

"Hmm. You seemed to have…missed…some there," Harm murmured, leaning towards her, he slowly kissed the side of her mouth. After a moment, he kissed the other side of her mouth. "And some here," he whispered against her soft skin. "And here," he added as he finally brought his lips down on hers fully.

Neither one of them had any idea how long they sat up there kissing each other as if there were no one else in the world. Gradually, Harm realized they were moving again and reluctantly pulled away, breaking the kiss.

"Mmmmm, delicious. You may be onto something when it comes to cotton candy." Harm said softly with a smile. "But I think you make it all the sweeter."

"You mean I might be able to turn you onto junk food after all these years?" Mac asked with a low sultry chuckle.

"Only if you're involved." Harm winked with a full blown flyboy grin.

Soon enough they were at the bottom of the wheel and the operator was opening the rail with a slow wink for Harm.

While Harm helped Mac step out of the basket, the operator brought up a digital image on the computer sitting next to his station. "Interest you folks in a picture of your ride?"

Looking over at the screen, Harm could see an image of him sucking the cotton candy from Mac's fingers. With a laugh, he reached into his pocket for some money. "I didn't even see a camera. How much?"

"Five bucks," the operator smiled. "It's on a pole right at the top. The roller coaster guys make enough money off pictures, we decided to try it with the wheel. Not the same kind of picture mind you, but people usually seem to want these too."

"I can see why," Mac smiled, stepping up to take Harm's arm. Walking away from the wheel, panda and photo in hand, neither one of them saw the man who approached the operator and purchased a copy of their picture.

**Chapter 16**

**Harm's apartment**

**2030 hours**

"They've either got a new chef, or I was hungrier than I thought," Mac said over her shoulder, carrying her dirty plate to the sink.

"How could you have been THAT hungry? You practically ate your way through the fair!" Harm was completely astounded at her casual comment, not to mention her appetite.

"I did not! I just didn't want to miss anything," Mac grinned, leaning against Harm who was now standing next to her, placing his dirty dish on the counter.

"It was a great day. Thank you." Mac looked up, her head tilted slightly to one side.

Harm had to admit it had been a delightful day. He got to see a side of Mac she rarely shared, at least not with him. They'd often had a playful banter through the years, but today it was different. It seemed more focused, more real. As though it were more than a game, more like a prelude of things to come.

"Thank you," Harm's voice dropped several octaves lower than usual. Their eyes met in a heat filled gaze that seemed interminable. Harm had no idea how long they stood there lost in each other, her soft chocolate eyes were drawing him in. It was a pull he couldn't resist, didn't want to resist.

The moment their lips met it was as though someone had struck a match. His arms wound more tightly around her waist, pulling her snuggly against him. The warmth of his touch was creating a fire deep within Mac, one she wasn't sure she wanted to extinguish. Allowing her fingers to find their way to the back of his neck, swirling through his hair, pulling him as close as humanly possible, Mac knew she needed to stop before she couldn't, but God help her, she didn't want to.

Harm was fighting to keep his growing desire on a short leash. He needed to keep in control, to take this slowly. There could be no doubt why they were together, if they got together. Allowing his hand the pleasure of dropping down Mac's back and lightly caressing her six, he knew he had to stop now while he still could.

Releasing his hold on her lips, Harm pulled back slightly, his eyes closed, calling on every strand of honor he possessed. He so wanted to share himself with this woman, in every way possible.

Mac sighed heavily, dropping her head on his shoulder. Neither one wanted to break the spell by actually speaking. Finding her nerve. Mac took the plunge. Someone had to.

"A girl could get used to this," she smiled into his shirt, not willing to release her hold on him, unable to see the broad grin that had spread across his face.

"You really think so?" He tried to keep his voice steady. What he really wanted to do was screech YES at the top of his lungs.

Daring to glance up at him, she allowed their eyes to lock again, trying to read any sign of similar feelings. Grinning sweetly at what she saw, "Very much so."

Pulling her tightly against him again, Harm leaned down and kissed the top of her head, unwilling to risk tasting her lips another time. "Don't expect an argument from me. Mac?"

"What."

Harm searched for the right words. "Does this mean we're finally an us?" He closed his eyes tightly and prayed.

"I'd like that, …if you want it too." Mac was afraid to look up.

"Maybe now would be a good time to talk about this." Harm began stroking Mac's hair.

"Do we have to? Can't we just be? I mean, we've gotten this far without having to talk." Mac wasn't moving an inch. She had never been more contented in a man's arms, and she wasn't going to give this up any time soon if she had anything to say about it.

Harm let out a deep sigh. "Maybe for now, you're right. I think eventually though, we're going to have to talk about a few things at least." Harm kissed the top of her head again. Like our deal he thought to himself.

Mac nodded her head in his shoulder before pulling away and smiling. "Why don't you go find us something interesting to watch on TV, and I'll put on some tea. I know it's getting late, but I'm not really ready to go home yet."

"Is it because you know someone is watching your apartment?" Harm set his hands on Mac's shoulder.

"Maybe. Let me make the tea and we can talk some more sitting down." Mac reached for the kettle.

Reluctantly, Harm went in search of the remote control and TV guide as she had asked. Even though he had lived without a TV for years, ever since Webb so graciously gave him the small TV for the tiger shark case, he had to admit it came in handy at times like this.

Watching Mac settle on the sofa next to him, he waited to see if she wanted to continue, or drop the whole subject.

"You're right," she sighed softly, snuggling up close to him. An enormous wave of contentment washed over her at the realization she was now free to show Harm how she felt.

"Ever since Bud pointed out that our peeping Tom is probably using infrared lenses to watch us, I feel like there's no place to hide. I know he only wants to get compromising pictures of the two of us, but the thought of him being able to follow my every move solely on my body heat is just… I feel violated."

Putting his arm lightly around her shoulder, "Would you like to stay here?"

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, yet." Setting her hand lightly on his lap, Mac hoped he would understand without having to go into it now.

"I meant, I could sleep on the sofa." He took hold of her hand in his. He had no intention of rushing her.

"I know what you meant. It's not you I'm worried about." Mac needed to redirect this conversation and fast. "What I want is for this whole blackmail business to be over."

"We all do."

"What has Novak come up with on the kid who got killed?"

"He was 21 years old, in his last year at Georgetown. He probably would have graduated cum laude according to his records. Comes from an ordinary middle class family in debt up to their eyeballs trying to give their kids the American dream. He's the middle of 5 children. Everyone says he was a nice kid, never in any trouble, always took care of business. It sounds like he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time but you know as well as anyone, looks can be deceiving."

"Do they think it's a coincidence?"

"No. They have three working possibilities: either the kid was in on it all along and they didn't want any witnesses, or he was in on it and tried to pull a fast one, or the kid had no idea and figured out something he shouldn't have. The latter leaving him in the wrong place at the wrong time." Harm could feel Mac tensing up. Dead bodies always made cases harder.


	3. Chapter 17 thru 25

**Chapter 17**

**JAG Headquarters**

**One week later 0955 hours**

**Bud's office**

Waiting patiently at his desk, Bud tried to make small talk with his two guests.

"I appreciate your coming down here and doing this. I'm sure they'll be here any minute. The Colonel is never late for anything and I told her 1000," Bud smiled

No sooner had the words come out of Bud's mouth than, as if on cue, Mac appeared in his doorway.

"Commander Rabb will be here any minute, Lt. Sims needed him a moment to sign some reports." Mac turned to extend her hand to the woman seated by the desk, and then the man standing beside her.

"Please, sit down," Mac directed.

"This is Retired Colonel Thomas Jefferson Edelhaus and his wife Elizabeth," Bud nodded.

"It's a pleasure," Mac said, at the same time the two people offered similar salutations.

"Sorry, I'm late," Harm announced, walking into the office and closing the door behind him.

Once introductions were made again, Bud began. "Colonel, why don't you tell Colonel MacKenzie and the Commander exactly what you explained to me."

"Well," he paused for a deep breath, his wife reaching over and taking hold of his hand.

"Deploying this last time was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Leaving your family behind is always tough, but Liz had made it clear if I didn't resign my commission, she wouldn't be home waiting for me. I love her with everything I am, but I couldn't just abandon my country either." He looked up at Harm and Mac, searching for some understanding.

"War is never pretty, I know that. This time was different. I saw too many good young men going down to ambushes. Ambushes I had no power to foresee or prevent. Schools with children and hospitals filled with the ill and dying were used as bunkers. Children were used everywhere as human shields. This is nothing like the war ten years ago." His wife squeezed his hand encouraging him to continue.

"No matter how much of a soldier you are, these things have to do something to a man inside, especially a good man," Liz Edelhaus interjected, looking supportively up at her husband.

"We all come back changed," Mac agreed.

"This time was different. Their disdain for the American government was like rubbing salt in an open wound. We've all given up a lot to be over there, to try and do good. The enemy and culture slowly merged into one. You try to help a young woman struggling with an infant only to have her turn on you and shoot down half of your men in cold blood. It turns out a farmer with a broken down truck doesn't really need three of you to help him out of the mud, the truck is booby trapped with dynamite to blow up everyone around it. I found myself slowly learning to hate these people."

"Go on," Bud encouraged when the Colonel seemed to pause too long.

"Just before my six months were I up, we took some heavy fire in the outskirts of Tikrit. By the time I was patched up, they decided it was best to just rotate me home. I couldn't stand watching the news. I had never noticed how many middle eastern people there are in my neighborhood. It made me sick thinking of how they could walk the streets freely here and our boys are being butchered over there." He paused again to read his audience. If they were revolted, they didn't show it. If they understood, he couldn't tell.

"One day I got an email from America's New Horizon. I don't usually pay attention to my spam mail, but the pro American marketing caught my eye. This wasn't your typical militia website. Whoever put it together knows how to manipulate the constitution and the human mind. Before I knew it I was sucked in and actually attended a few meetings."

"I feel this is all my fault. If I hadn't made him choose between me and his country he would never have even noticed those emails," his wife defended.

"You can't take the blame for this, Liz. I walked in with my eyes wide open." He squeezed her hand more tightly.

"A few more meetings, a few nights chatting over beers, and the next thing I know, I'm driving out to some camp watching these country yahoos marching around, explaining to Paul where he's made all his training mistakes." The Colonel shook his head, obviously upset with his own actions.

"I was sick with myself. I couldn't sleep for days. I was torn between the love for my country and my growing hatred of anyone foreign on our soil. I know that's ridiculous and against everything our country stands for but I just couldn't help it."

Harm and Mac looked at each other. This man was obviously dealing alone with at least some degree of post traumatic stress.

"I offered some advice once in a while, but then one day he brought me out there again and showed me all around the entire facility. He kept going on and on about what a great country we had, and how our founding fathers had fought valiantly to make it so, and how each and every American needed to fight to keep it as our fore fathers intended. He went on about how our current government and military were undermining that intention. Then it came, the bombshell. He wanted me to take charge of the entire operation. Something inside me snapped. That was too much, too far. I couldn't do it. I told him I'd think about it, and never called back. He called me a couple of times and I made some excuse. Eventually, I thought he got the message because he stopped calling."

"When did the blackmailing start?" Bud asked, already knowing the answer.

"About a month or so after I didn't respond to Paul's request. It started with a single envelope under my door. The note simply said: Article 92 of the UCMJ, with a single photograph of Paul Healy and me standing over his troops."

The hair on the back of Harm and Mac's necks bristled high. Paul Healy. America's New Horizon and New Horizons were one and the same. This man was obviously funding his militia group with extortion money.

"I didn't hear from them for a while so I thought maybe the whole thing would blow over now that I wasn't associating with them anymore. Then it came, an email quoting article 92 about not participating in organizations that support supremacist causes. I'm sure I don't need to quote it in its entirety to you, although I could. It has been running constantly in my nightmares for months." Taking another deep breath, "that, and a request for ten thousand dollars."

"TOM! You didn't tell me that part." Liz looked truly shocked. "Where'd you get the money?"

"I borrowed it from mom and dad. I didn't want you any more upset than you are. I'm sorry." His eyes pleaded with his wife to understand his not telling her this one last thing before he turned back to face the officers patiently waiting.

"The next time the request came they wanted another ten thousand. When I told them I didn't have any more money, they gave me the option of resigning. My career would have been over anyway if anyone found out, so, I resigned my commission and went to ground with my tail between my legs. It was after Lt. Roberts spoke to my wife that she came looking for me. I told her the whole story, well, most of it, and here we are."

Bud wasn't exactly smiling, but he had a definite air of satisfaction. He knew Harm and Mac would start to put things together. Maybe now they could finally get somewhere.

**Chapter 18**

**Buds office**

**1150 hours**

Closing the door behind Colonel Edelhaus and his wife, Harm turned to Bud and Mac.

"Okay, lets lay out what we've got here," Harm started.

"I think it's pretty obvious that New Horizons and America's New Horizon are probably one and the same. The reason it was so hard to find out what New Horizons was doing is because it's funding a national militia. I need to change my search criteria," Bud supplied. "We need to connect Paul Healy and the two organizations."

"Let's say this Paul Healy is our blackmailer. Why extortion? He's on the who's who list of dot com money makers," Mac proposed.

"Maybe there's not as much money there as we think. Maybe he's funding the operation with dirty money. Bud, see what you can find out about Healy's financial status. We'll have to check with Novak and see what the FBI has on his little group. We might as well check with Homeland Security as well." Harm's mind was working a mile a minute putting all the pieces together. He still had a nagging feeling there was more to this. How did forcing early retirement fit into this blasted puzzle?

"Even if he is using the blackmail money to front the operation, why would he let them have an out by offering to let them resign. What's he going to gain from that?" Mac asked, her palms turned up, reinforcing the question and Harm's doubts.

"Ma'am this may just be a coincidence, but both our victims were on the list for Military Liaison for Homeland Security," Bud volunteered.

Harm's eyes flew wide. "That's it. Be right back." Harm was out the door in a flash. Within minutes he'd returned holding the file Webb had given him.

"I knew something was right in front of my face and I was missing it." Harm handed Mac a piece of paper from the file. After looking at it a moment, she looked up at Harm while handing the paper to Bud.

"It was rumored that Kensington had the appointment for Military Liaison sewed up. How much do you want to bet they were eliminating the rest of the list in an attempt to get the one man they knew they had in their pocket for that position." Harm didn't really expect an answer.

"I'll go over the list of recent retirees again, see who was on that list, or even rumored to be on that list." Bud reached for a file that was buried on his desk, his eyes showing the thrill of the hunt.

"Do you suppose Kensington killed himself rather than be under these people's thumb?" Mac suggested.

"I wouldn't be surprised. When push came to shove, Edelhaus wanted no part of the group. I don't know what they had on Kensington, but it had to go against every honorable bone in his body to be in cahoots with a lot like that." Harm was overcome by a wave of sympathy.

"Let's say I buy this thing about eliminating the others on the list. Why come after us? We're no one important. Neither one of us is up for any major posting. Why blackmail us?" Mac was frowning, trying to pull the loose ends together.

"I don't know yet, but at least we know where to start looking." Harm shook his head. Turning to Bud, "has Hatcher left his apartment at all since Novak's had him tailed?"

"Only to go to the grocery store. He hasn't followed you or the Colonel anywhere," Bud replied.

"If Healy really is behind this. He must have people all over the place. This could be a lot more far reaching than we had thought," Mac sighed.

"At least everything points to the only thing they're after is money. We haven't come across anything to indicate the selling of secrets." Harm flipped open Kensington's file again.

"I don't know about you two, but I have a headache the size of New England. I'm taking some aspirin and going to go lose myself in something more lighthearted, like the Miller court martial." Mac rubbed the back of her neck and turned to leave.

She only managed to make it about two feet before Harm stood up next to her and dropped his hands on her shoulders.

"Why don't you take two aspirins and then we'll go somewhere relaxing for lunch?" Harm suggested, his hands lightly massaging her tired shoulders. It wasn't really appropriate in uniform, but with the door and blinds still closed, no one would see.

"If you promise to keep that up, I'll follow you anywhere, sailor." She had forgotten Bud was still in the room with them.

The blush quickly rose to the tip of Bud's ears. Clearing his throat quietly as a subtle reminder of his presence, he pretended to be studiously engrossed in his list of retirees.

Smiling to themselves, Harm and Mac separated. "Then we're on for lunch?" Harm repeated.

"Yeah, meet you in your office in 20," Mac smiled, making her way out the door.

**Enchilada's Restaurant**

**Falls Church Virginia**

Harm and Mac had been chatting amicably over lunch waiting for the restaurant to empty out a bit. Having opted to sit in the last booth in the corner, once the booth in front of them was empty they began going over the new information they had.

"What we have is a lot of conjecture and hearsay, we can't even put together a decent circumstantial case," Mac sighed before taking another bite of her fajitas.

"If we want a judge to issue warrants, we're going to have to get something more solid connecting Healy and /or his militia to this blackmailing ring," Harm agreed, contemplating the best way to tell Mac what he was thinking.

"Bud said he thought this guy liked toying with his victims. We're going to have to draw him out, give him something to make him anxious to contact us again. We need to catch someone red handed to get physical evidence." Harm hoped Mac understood what he was implying without getting too technical.

"So, what you're saying is we need to turn up the heat in this scam?" Mac looked over at Harm, her fork dangling in mid air.

"Pretty much, yeah." The mind picture of turning up the heat between them scared the hell out of Harm.

"So far none of the photos have come from anything going on at ops, only the parking lot and we can't do anything in uniform," Mac offered.

"One of us is obviously being followed because they got that picture of us at the hospital," Harm added.

"Well, it's not likely it's you or they would have known you were going to walk in on them at your apartment. Since the majority of the photos seem to have come from in, or near my apartment, my vote goes for they're watching me," Mac sighed.

"You're probably right," Harm nodded. "Your apartment then?"

"Yeah, you got any plans for tonight?"

"I was thinking about unwinding with DeVinci, but I could probably put that off to make love to a beautiful marine." Harm froze when he saw Mac's eyes fly open. He hadn't really meant to say all that out loud. "Pretend to make love, pretend," Harm quickly clarified.

Somehow, that didn't make Mac feel any easier. They were going to have to put on a show for this creep. They hadn't gotten much past a few hot kisses in a stolen corner and now they would have to perform for a photo bug.

**Chapter 19**

**Mac's apartment**

**1810**

Harm pulled up to Mac's apartment a few seconds after she did. Following her upstairs, they paused momentarily outside her apartment door.

"Are you going to be okay?" Harm asked. Mac looked as nervous as a cat, and to be honest, he was a little disconcerted himself.

"Yeah. It's just knowing I'm going in there to an audience that just has my stomach revolting."

"Well, take a deep breath and we'll just follow the plan. We've worked it out, it will be okay," Harm smiled, raising his hand to gently caress Mac's cheek. "You can do it, marine." Now the question was, could he?

Nodding her head. "On with the show." Mac turned away to unlock her door.

Stepping inside, Mac proceeded immediately to the window and closed the living room curtains, as had been her routine every day since the first photos appeared on her desk. Once the curtains were drawn, the two officers took off their jackets and headed for the kitchen.

Coming up behind Mac and putting his arms around her waist, Harm whispered in her ear. "Let's try to enjoy dinner and forget this guy is out there."

It wasn't long before dinner was finished, the dishes were cleared and Harm and Mac were sitting comfortably on the sofa listening to music.

"This has to be more awkward than a first date," Mac sighed. Although they'd indulged in playful necking more often over the last week, they had been very careful not to go too far too soon. They still needed time for this relationship to unfold naturally without the constraints of this blasted case.

"I wonder if this is what actors go through having to do love scenes in front of a camera?" Harm grinned.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Mac smiled back.

"Well, we might as well get this over with," Harm announced.

"Oh, gee, thanks. That really makes me feel better, Harm." Mac rolled her eyes.

"Maaac. Come on, you know what I meant."

Grinning widely to assure him he was off the hook, " I know, chalk it up to nervous energy."

"Maybe this will help." Carefully, Harm pulled Mac closer to him and sweetly placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Within moments Harm felt Mac relax in his arms. "That was just because I wanted to," he smiled before gently pushing her back to lie against the sofa and kissing her again.

Knowing due to the closed curtains the voyeur was most likely watching them with special equipment, Harm and Mac followed a carefully orchestrated plan. After a short few moments of kissing, his fingers began undoing the buttons on her shirt.

"I'm sorry, Mac," Harm whispered to her. He felt like he was violating a sacred trust, forcing himself on her, even if this was part of the plan.

Reaching up to undo the buttons on his shirt and the buckle on his belt, " I know, me too." Mac blinked back the moisture building in her eyes. This wasn't exactly the way she had pictured the first time she and Harm would undress for each other.

They truly did feel like actors on a movie set. Every move choreographed to give the illusion of a couple undressing in the throes of passion before making their way to the bedroom and carelessly leaving the curtains open just enough to allow for a blackmailers folly.

Separated only by their undergarments, Harm was relieved to find the tension of the circumstances was greatly aiding in controlling his physical responses to being pressed up against Mac. Despite the awkwardness of the intimate situation, if Harm wanted to maintain his control he needed to move the plan along and get it over with. Unlike an actor, he was in love with his leading lady and wasn't sure how long he could hold back.

"Let's assume this guy doesn't believe in foreplay," Harm mumbled, "and move this show to the other room."

Getting up from the sofa, Harm held his hand out to Mac. Taking hold of her hand, he couldn't help but hesitate at how beautiful she looked. He'd always known under that uniform was a gorgeous woman, but it was still a shock to his system to see her that way in the flesh, so to speak.

Standing to follow Harm, Mac's breath caught at the sight of his bare chest. She hadn't forgotten how he looked that night so long ago when they had thought Webb had died. The years had been good to him, he looked more handsome than ever.

"Here goes, marine. You with me?" Harm asked pulling her into his arms.

"I'm all yours." They may have been going through the motions for the assignment, but she meant what she said, and Harm knew it.

Leaning down to capture her lips in what was to appear as a more passionate embrace, Harm began backing into Mac's bedroom with Mac still strongly entrenched in his arms. Together they made their way to the window, never breaking the hold or the kiss.

Harm reached out to pull on the drapery drawstring. Pulling very slowly on the string, he watched from the corner of his eye until the curtains were mostly closed, only remaining open about a foot and a half before he dropped the cord and wrapped the arm that had been pulling the cord tightly around Mac. Scooping her up, he carried her the short distance to the bed, and set her down beside it. Their lips were still sealed in the same kiss that had been growing in intensity, pulling them further and further into the charade.

Unsure of just how clearly the bed could be seen from the window, they were fairly sure the photographer had already had plenty of time to take compromising photos of them in a half naked clench by the window before they had finished adjusting the curtains.

Needing to follow through with the scene, Mac pulled away long enough to catch her breath and pull back the bed covers. Slowly crawling in, Harm followed, thankful for the chance to cool off.

Up on his knees, straddling Mac, Harm made sure there was some space between them and that they were completely covered by the sheet so the photographer could only 'guess' what they were doing underneath. Mac stretched out her left arm, tightly grabbing a large chunk of the corner of the sheet. It was her assignment to ensure the sheet never moved.

Taking another deep breath, Harm bit his lower lip and leaned down to kiss Mac's neck. This whole thing was already getting to be too much for him, and if the quiet wince that escaped Mac's throat was any sign, she was having a hard time of it too.

"Mac, I don't think I can do this. Maybe we can assume from where he is, he can't tell if we're moving under here." The thought of grinding up against Mac with only a few sheer layers of fabric between them was more than he could take without becoming very embarrassed, and he knew it.

Already breathing more heavily than she wanted to be, Mac took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her breathing and her body.

"We've made it this far. We can do this really fast." Mac hoped she knew what she was talking about because right now, she wasn't very sure about very much, including if she'd be able to stop herself from stripping what few barriers were still between them and taking on Harmon Rabb, whoever was watching be damned.

Feeling Mac's legs swing up around his back and pull him down against her, Harm couldn't stop himself from releasing a low groan. The feel of so much of her soft skin against his bare body was definitely more than he could take. He could feel his body betraying him. Harm immediately scooted down on the bed so his hips were resting firmly on the mattress just barely below Mac.

With a few short thrusting motions and a little squirming added for good measure. Harm collapsed truly exhausted on Mac. The mental pressure of this entire little episode was probably more exhausting than any real sexual encounter he'd ever had. Now all he needed was a very cold shower.

Sliding out from under him, Mac shifted to one side, patting gently at the bed next to her. "You're getting heavy squid." Mac tried to lighten up the tension in the room.

"I resemble that remark." Harm smiled into the mattress not sure he wanted to move. Scooting up even with Mac, he remained on his stomach hiding any signs of the affect this entire ordeal still had on him, and casually laid an arm across her.

"Harm,"

"Mnn."

"Do you think this will make a difference?"

"I certainly hope so. The next time I have you in my arms half naked I want it to be for the right reasons and it's going to take a lot longer than fifteen minutes."

"Twelve minutes and thirty seconds," Mac smiled.

**Chapter 20**

**Mac's apartment**

**Next morning, Saturday 0815**

Having slept more peacefully than he expected after the previous evening's events. Harm woke up to the smell of fresh coffee saturating the air.

"Morning sleepy head," Mac grinned from her seat at the table.

"Did you sleep well, DEAR?" Harm asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I slept really well." A broad smile spread across Mac's face.

"Are you up to plan B?"

"Oh, yeah. Compared to last night, this will be a piece of cake." Mac took a sip of her coffee. "What do you say to stopping at IHOP for breakfast? I feel like blueberry pancakes this morning."

"Cravings?" Harm raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just hungry," Mac blushed. "I'll hop in the shower, while you read the paper and finish your coffee."

"Sounds like a plan, I'll join you when I'm done." Harm tried really hard to keep a straight face.

"In your dreams, Flyboy," Mac shot back, delighted the stress from the previous day didn't appear to have left any negative affect on their budding relationship.

**Georgetown Park Mall**

**1045 hours**

"Blueberry pancakes with a side of cole slaw." Harm shook his head. "Are you sure you're not hiding something from us?" he teased. Mac had always had a healthy appetite but never so weird.

"They say mind over matter. Just be thankful I'm not sending you out for sushi at three o'clock in the morning." Even she had to admit that was the strangest food combination she had ever ordered.

They'd wandered in and out of a few stores. Harm perused Sharper Image while Mac made her way through Victoria's Secret, purchasing a few appealing items. From there, they made their way over to Talbot's where Mac bought a couple more things before she and Harm casually slipped into Talbot's Kids and purchased a few infant items.

"Have you noticed anything?" Mac asked.

"No, how about you."

"Nothing," she sighed.

"If anyone IS tailing us, they're damn good at what they do. I've already spotted Novak's man twice."

"It doesn't hurt that you know what he looks like. I've noticed that lady with the floral stroller a few times but somehow I doubt seriously that Healy's hiring stay at home moms to photograph extortion victims," Mac sneered.

"At least we're finding some nice things for Harriet and the new baby," Harm smiled, then pointed towards Benetton Kids. "This should cinch it if they are watching."

Oohing and Aahing their way through the store, Harm and Mac gleefully spent the Sec Nav's money on Harriet's new baby. By two o'clock, Mac's stomach was beginning to growl.

"Where do you want to eat, Georgetown Deli or Fresh Choice?" Harm asked.

"I think Fresh Choice sounds good. You deserve a reward for being such a good sport about all this shopping." Mac grabbed his hand and pulled him close for a quick kiss.

Sitting side by side at a table near the back corner of the restaurant, something they'd become accustomed to doing over the last couple of months, they were almost finished eating when Harm shifted his chair slightly and stretched his left hand across to rest on Mac's stomach.

Looking down at his large hand on her tummy, Mac turned her head in Harm's direction.

"What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking. More like wondering, what it would be like if you were really pregnant." Harm's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. A touch of sadness was hiding there. He didn't tell Mac he was wondering if they would get the chance to fulfill their deal, or worried if she even wanted to.

Placing her hand on his, holding it firmly against her. "Me too."

Unable to find the right words, Harm met Mac half way, their lips pressed delicately together as if silently sealing a deal that had been made so long ago.

**Short while later**

At the spur of the moment Harm took an unexpected turn instead of heading straight for his place. Mac couldn't help but chuckle when he pulled into the Babies 'R Us parking lot.

"Don't you think this might be considered over kill?" Mac shook her head in amusement.

"If you were expecting my child I would have probably bought out half of DC by now." Harm's face grew suddenly serious.

Noticing Mac's loss for words, "Come on. Let's have some fun with this." Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Harm hopped out of the car and made his way around to Mac's door.

"Ready, mom?" he grinned again playfully.

"Ready, pop." Taking Harm's proffered arm, she smiled broadly at Harm's pained grimace at her use of the name Pop.

They laughed and teased their way all around the store and all the way home. By the time they made it up to Harm's apartment their sides were literally sore from so much laughing.

They had already decided after last night that Mac would spend the night at Harm's. Since none of the photographs had ever been taken at Harm's, they felt it offered them a temporary haven. Mac's not going home would still add to the pretense.

Compared to the previous night, the evening had been very uneventful, but pleasantly relaxing. The fun day and quiet evening was exactly the break they needed. Waking up the next morning snuggled near each other, they decided to delay breakfast and opted for an early morning run, something they hadn't done together in a very long time.

"You're sure it would be okay to go running if you were pregnant?" Harm asked for the umpteenth time as they walked back into his building.

"As long as I already had a regular exercise routine that included running, a short, slow run like we did this morning would have been perfectly okay." Mac insisted almost falling over Harm when he stopped short in the open doorway.

"What?" she questioned.

Mac watched intently as Harm went over to his closet and pulled on a pair of lightweight driving gloves. Making his way back to Mac, he leaned down and carefully picked up the plain manila envelope.

"Peeping Paul strikes again," Mac sighed, closing the front door. Securing the latch, she turned and followed Harm to the island counter. Her eyes carefully following Harm's every move as he reached for a kitchen knife and slit the envelope open with almost surgical precision.

Spilling the contents onto the countertop as he had done with the previous envelope in his office, Harm carefully spread the photos out for viewing before glancing up to catch Mac's reaction.

Noticing all the color drain from her face, Harm sprang up pulling her shaking body into a tight embrace.

"It's okay, babe. It's okay. This is what we wanted."

Taking a few deep breaths before pulling away from the security of his arms, Mac straightened her shoulders and stepped back.

"I know, I just hadn't realized how much more violated I would feel seeing the photos than I did knowing they were being taken." One photo in particular had caught Mac's eye. It had obviously been taken in the last stages of their performance when Harm and Mac were in bed. It was a close up of Mac's face with the back of Harm's head apparently nibbling on her neck, the pleasure of the moment clearly evident despite her efforts of restraint at the time.

Looking up at Harm. "I want to see that sick SOB hanging from the nearest tree," she said through gritted teeth.

Pulling her back into his arms. "So do I, so do I."

**Chapter 21**

Harm immediately informed Bud and the Admiral of the package delivery, then placed a call to Novak.

The people Novak had watching Harm's apartment recorded a messenger entering his building at 8:35. When Novak's people on Mac and Hatcher's building reported having seen the same messenger service entering the building at 8:00am, everyone knew they'd finally caught their first real break.

It hadn't taken Bud or the Admiral long to get to Harm's.

"Sorry to take you away from your family so early on a Sunday morning." Harm patted Bud on the back and watched him walk over to the kitchen.

"No problem. I was going to wait until work tomorrow, but since I'm here." Bud set his briefcase down on the dining table and pulled out a file.

"What have you got there?" AJ asked, coming through the still open front door.

"Good morning, sir. Sorry I didn't see you." Harm glanced down his hallway, then closed the door behind his CO.

"This is the list of all military officers retiring over the last six months." He handed AJ the folder.

"I didn't think we could afford to lose so many officers in the current political climate." AJ continued flipping through the papers.

"No, sir," Bud agreed. "Of all the names on that list, twenty six fit the criteria for unexpected. Of the twenty six, ten were on, or rumored to be on the list for Military Liaison appointees. That doesn't include Admiral Kensington."

"Well, that could still work with our theory. It might explain why Mac and I are targets if we fall into the same category, or reason, the other sixteen fall into. Assuming they're all being blackmailed." Harm accepted the file from AJ.

"I'm searching for any correlation between the sixteen, plus you and the Colonel, sir." Bud took the folder back from Harm and returned it to its place in his briefcase.

"Let us know as soon as you come across anything," AJ nodded before turning to face Harm. "All right, what have you got this morning?"

AJ followed Harm's finger pointing to several photographs scattered across the kitchen counter.

The photos had pretty much covered the gamut of the previous two days, as well as the day on the ferris wheel. There were two photos of Harm and Mac in what appeared to be a very passionate, and private embrace, one just inside a doorway and one directly in front of the large window. There was the photo of Mac that had left her so upset earlier as well as a photo of Harm hovering over Mac in bed. AJ paused momentarily to glance at the pained expressions on his senior attorney's faces. It was obvious by their pallor this morning that it was no picnic in the park having performed for those photos. Their CO hoped it wasn't going to have any adverse affects on their already tenuous relationship.

The day before had yielded more lighthearted photos. There was the one of Harm and Mac smiling and holding hands coming out of Benetton for Kids, by the looks on their faces when the Admiral glanced up again, it was obvious they hadn't realized at the time they'd been holding hands. There was a great photo of Harm laughing over a baby stroller with Mac's armed draped over him, kissing his cheek. The most endearing though had to be the photo of Harm and Mac holding her stomach. Anyone who could look at that photo and not see two people in love would have to be as blind as a bat.

Removing the two photos of Harm and Mac actually in bed from the batch, Admiral Chegwidden checked in with Novak and the DC police. AJ was quickly informed, when faced with the FBI and DC police, it hadn't taken the owners of the messenger service long to turn over the name and address of the man ordering the delivery.

Within two hours of AJ's call, the DA and DC police had picked up the photos, obtained copies of the paperwork from the messenger service, and convinced a judge to issue a search warrant for Hatcher's apartment. It was just a waiting game now to see what they turned up.

At 1435 the phone finally rang.

"Rabb….right…. mmn… Thank you. They got it. They found the camera focused on Mac's apartment, a dark room with all the negatives, and plenty more pictures, and some… videos." Hoping no one noticed the catch in his breath, "They're bringing him in for questioning."

Within minutes, everyone was out the door and on their way to police headquarters.

Harm and Mac drove together silently in the Lexus. Bud hitched a ride with the Admiral. When they arrived, Novak was pacing the front entrance waiting for them.

"The judge has already okayed another warrant to pull Hatcher's bank statements etc." Novak explained, leading the officers to a small dark room with one large window overlooking the interrogation room.

Lined up in front of the large glass, as though preparing for inspection, the group listened intently to the happenings on the other side of the glass.

"Let's go over this again," Detective Moliterno, a tall heavyset man with salt and pepper hair, growled. Obviously it would be his role to play bad cop.

"We've got you on invasion of privacy and blackmail. You know blackmail is a felony that carries a five year prison sentence?" Moliterno paused hoping he would see some reaction. When Hatcher remained stone faced, he continued.

"Then there's unlawful entry and aggravated assault, that carries another ten years," Moliterno pressed.

"You're lucky that Commander Rabb didn't have any serious injuries or you could be up on two felony murder charges." Detective Angela Russell volunteered as sympathetically as possible for a police interrogator.

A sense of impending satisfaction swelled in Moliterno's chest when he caught the momentary look of sheer panic in Hatcher's eyes.

"You can't pin all that on me. All I did was take a few pictures. I didn't break into Rabb's place or hit him over the head with that lamp." Hatcher was trying to remain calm.

Moliterno leaned forward placing his hands flat on the table in front of Hatcher. "Then how did you know about the lamp?" They were going to get this weasel, he could feel it in his bones.

"Don't think that game is going to work on me. I'm not a stupid street thug. There's no way you can prove I did something I didn't do," Hatcher sneered, feeling full of himself.

"Well," Russell stepped in, "we don't have to prove you did it. The law says if a criminal offense has been committed, and you knew that the offense had been committed, which you must since you know he was hit with a lamp, and you did nothing to stop it or help with his arrest, trial or imprisonment, then you're an accessory after the fact," she smiled sweetly.

"And THAT, will get you another five years not to mention a possible fine for five grand." Moliterno was loving the way Hatcher's cheeks were fading to pale green.

"It's not THAT easy," Bud said still staring at the glass. "The defendant has to help the person who committed the assault with the specific intent to hinder or prevent that person's arrest, trial, or punishment." Still looking through the glass, Bud was completely unaware of the incredulous gaze his three superior officers shot in his direction.

Suddenly feeling ill at ease, Bud turned to notice the piercing glares coming form everyone in the room. "Oh, right," he nodded then quickly returned his focus to the interview.

"So, you see," Russell continued, "you're looking at ten years in jail for blackmail and assault plus life for felony murder. Are you sure you don't want to change your story?"

"You're not going to get me to slip about any murders so you can pin an accessory to that on me too," Hatcher replied with a smirky grin.

"Well, Mr. Hatcher. Felony murder is different." Angela leaned closer to him, placing one hand on the back of his chair so he could get a good look at her eyes, and her cleavage. Nothing like a little peek of flesh to make a guilty man squirm.

"Since blackmail is a felony, and the person who committed the murder did so when collecting payment for the same felony blackmail, both the person who committed the killing and the person who aided in the felony are guilty of felony murder." She stepped back giving that a few minutes to sink in.

"I'm not saying another word until my lawyer gets here." Hatcher spat through clenched teeth.

**Chapter 22**

Mac was staring intently at the man still sitting in the wooden chair on the other side of the wall when she felt Harm's hand gently squeeze her arm.

"I'm sorry," Mac quickly apologized, now aware that the two detectives had joined them.

"Don't let these creeps get under your skin. I'm Angela Russell, this is my partner Jim Moliterno." Angela extended her hand to Mac.

"What happens now?" Bud asked.

"Well, I'd say we got the sucker," Jim smiled. "He's obviously not just a shutter bug. He has to be in the loop to not only know the Commander was assaulted but that he was taken down with a lamp."

"I agree. He knows names and he's scared. I've seen that look before. Once his lawyer explains that accessory to felony murder carries a minimum thirty year sentence with no release or probation, whatever is keeping him quiet won't scare him near as much as the thought of 40 years in jail."

Noticing the glazed over look in Mac's eyes as she tried to process what the detectives were telling her, all Harm wanted to do was get her out of there and take her home to the safety of his apartment and his arms. He had been dying to reach out and put his arm around Mac since they first saw Hatcher sitting in the other room but he didn't dare with the Admiral there.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Harm asked, knowing there wasn't at this point.

"No." Novak spoke up for the first time. "It could be a while before we have anything else. Let me know where you're going to be and I'll fill you in as soon as we know something."

Mac turned to Detective Russell.

"He's right. The DA will be here when his lawyer gets here. She'll probably offer him 5 years for blackmail and let him slide on all the other charges if he turns over names. I'd be willing to bet a months salary, he's going to do just that. As soon as he does, we'll call you," Angela nodded, reassuring Mac.

"Call my cell," Harm said, not knowing if they would be at his place or Mac's.

"Very well people, let's get out of here and let these fine detectives do their jobs," AJ practically ordered, leading the way out the door.

Harm and Mac were just getting into the car when Bud hurried over to them. "Sir, ma'am, I was thinking, it's been a long day, why don't you join Harriet and me for dinner at the house?"

"Thanks for the offer Bud but I think Mac's about ready to collapse," Harm started.

Mac was thankful that Harm could read her so well, in that split moment she glanced over at Bud and saw the disappointment in his eyes.

"You know, what I probably need is to be with friends. Dinner sounds nice Bud, are you sure it's okay with Harriet?"

"Yes, ma'am. I called ahead. The Admiral won't be able to join us. His daughter is supposed to phone him after some big show in Milan and he doesn't want to miss the call," Bud explained, nodding his head good bye and rushing off to the Admiral's car.

Once they were in the car. "Are you sure you're up to this?" Harm questioned.

"Did you see the look on his face? He's right. It'll be better to be distracted with friends than pacing the floor at home waiting for someone to call." Mac leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath and releasing a heavy sigh, she stretched her hand out and waited for Harm to take hold of it. As long as he was with her she'd be fine anywhere.

**Roberts' home**

**1910 hours**

"That was a wonderful treat Harriet. I hadn't realized how busy this case has kept us. I can't believe how much the kids change in such a short amount of time." Mac watched AJ through the window playing kickball in the back yard with some friends from the neighborhood.

"They do have a way of growing up fast. Especially Jimmy, with every week there's something new and different, but sometimes I blink and wonder when did AJ grow that extra inch." Harriet shook her head. "Why don't you and the Commander have a seat on the porch while Bud puts Jimmy to bed and I make us some coffee." Harriet waved her arm at the chairs on the back porch.

"Let me help," Mac offered.

"Nah, how many people do you need to scoop coffee and stare at the pot?" Harriet smiled.

"Whistle if you need us?" Harm smiled, placing his hand on Mac's back to nudge her out the door.

Stopping to watch the herd of boys chasing the single ball around the yard, Mac was suddenly struck by the realization that little AJ would be turning five before the end of the month. Walking down two steps, she sat on the porch.

"Penny for your thoughts." Harm sat down next to her.

"AJ is turning five this month," Mac said, her eyes still frozen on the blond haired boy across the yard.

"Harriet was right. They do grow up quickly." Harm knew what this meant but was having a hard time talking over the lump in his throat.

"Do you think you're ready for this?" Mac hadn't made any effort to look at Harm.

Looking around, Harm wasn't sure which this she was referring to.

"I'm sorry Mac, are you asking if I'm ready to make good on our deal?"

"Partly, are you ready for this?" She waved from them to the little boy chasing the ball. "To be sitting on the sidelines watching our deal chase a small ball across a field with a herd of other small people." Her eyes continued to follow AJ's every movement.

Harm studied her for just a second. "Are you?"

"I asked first, counselor." Mac finally turned her gaze to Harm. "Are you?"

Harm thought for a minute, staring out at little AJ. Did he want to say something safe or be honest? They had in a subtle way practically admitted they both wanted this that day at the mall. All playing it safe ever did for him all these years, was leave him with his foot in his mouth, or with a pissed off marine.

"Yes." He turned back towards Mac. "I'm ready for all of it, with you."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Mac's lips. "I hoped you would say that." Mac broke out in a beaming grin.

Reaching over and taking her hand in his. "When all this mess with Healy and Hatcher is over, maybe we can continue this conversation in more detail?"

Standing patiently by the backdoor holding a tray with a coffee pot and mugs, Harriet was waiting for what looked like a more opportune time to interupt. Just as she saw Mac nodding her head yes and reach over to kiss Harm, Bud tapped her on the shoulder.

"Why are you just standing there?"

"Look, Bud." She pointed her nose towards their friends. "It's taken them so long to get to this point, I didn't have the heart to intrude," Harriet practically swooned.

"Well, we don't have any choice. Novak just called my cell. Harm's battery must be dead. Detective Russell has been trying to reach him for twenty minutes."

**Chapter 23**

"Excuse me, sir. Detective Russell has been trying to get a hold of you." Bud handed Harm his cell phone. "Yours must have a dead battery. Just hit last call received."

Harm stood and began pacing the short length of the porch.

"Detective Russell, Harmon Rabb here. Sorry about my phone."

"I'm glad Novak was able to get a hold of you," the detective responded. "I wanted you to know what's going on."

Harm walked over closer to where Mac was sitting.

"Healy and New Horizon sent Hatcher a $500 an hour suit. Needless to say it wasn't in Mr. Healy's best interest to convince Hatcher that 40 years behind bars was an unpleasant future."

"Damn," Harm let slip, shaking his head.

"Don't give up the ship yet," she almost giggled. "So to speak." Angela Russell rarely had much opportunity to work with the Navy. She hadn't meant to find her own comment so amusing.

"We haven't officially charged him with anything yet, so he'll stew in jail tonight. His bail hearing won't be set until well into tomorrow afternoon. The lawyer may not have encouraged him to take a deal, but he heard the DA's offer loud and clear. You'd be amazed what an impression your first night in jail can have on you. Especially if you consider it could be the first of forty more years." Angela had been on the force for almost twenty years, she had learned how to read most of the perps that came through her doors. She couldn't read them all, but she was never wrong about ones like Hatcher.

"Go home, try and get a good night's sleep and for Pete's sake, charge your battery," she smiled.

"Thanks, detective. We'll try." Harm hung up the cell, totally unaware of answering for himself and Mac.

Harm quickly relayed the conversation to everyone on the porch.

Extending her arm to Harriet, who was still holding the tray, "I'm sorry Harriet, but I think I'm going to take a rain check on the coffee. Thanks again for the lovely dinner." She kissed Harriet lightly on the cheek before turning to Bud and doing the same. It had been a good break, now she needed to get away, to go home.

"You guys sit down and enjoy your coffee, we'll see ourselves out." Harm opened the back door for Mac.

Harriet stood frozen on the porch watching the pair make their way through the house. "I hope this doesn't drag on too much longer. I think this is taking a bigger toll on her than the Colonel's willing to admit. Thank God she and the Commander seem to finally be working things out." With one swift movement, she set the tray on the table and began pouring her husband and herself a cup of coffee.

Harm closed the car door once Mac was securely inside. Climbing into his side of the vehicle, "What do you say to my place and a couple of mugs of hot cocoa with whipped cream?"

"If it's all the same to you, I'd really like to go home." Mac was trying not to let this get her down, but she really was tired of living under a microscope.

"What ever the lady wants." Harm backed out of the driveway, offering Mac a reassuring smile.

**Mac's apartment**

**2020 hours**

Harm had convinced Mac it was still early and they should rent a movie to help kill some time. They'd been watching Waking Ned Divine and drinking the hot chocolate as Harm had suggested. The heavy mood from earlier had slowly melted away with the help of the amusing Irish film.

By the time the film was over, Mac was comfortably cocooned against Harm. "That was just what the doctor ordered," she smiled up at him.

"I have to admit, every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, the movie surprised me with something totally different." Harm let out a short chuckle. It really was the perfect film to lighten the mood they'd fallen into.

"I should probably get going. I doubt the Admiral is going to cut us any slack tomorrow morning." Harm tried to shift, but Mac didn't budge.

Hesitating for a minute at Mac's resistance, Harm considered what would be the best course of action. Mac was snuggled up against his chest, his left arm draped around her, her left arm hugging him for dear life with her head resting just below the crook of his neck.

"Would this by chance be your way of saying I shouldn't leave just yet?" Harm raised his eyebrows, tucking his chin in to better see the top of her head.

Lifting her head back as far as possible without releasing her hold, Mac looked up as best she could. "Maybe," then dropped her head back down again.

Harm almost laughed, amused with her antics. "Shall I put on another movie then?"

Pulling herself away, Mac raised her head closer to his eye level. "I was thinking we might find a different source of entertainment."

Harm's heart leapt to his throat at the implications of what she might be saying. He didn't dare say the wrong thing. If he'd misunderstood, Mac could easily cause him severe bodily injury.

If Harm was reading those dark eyes correctly, they were filled with the same desire that was quickly rising in him. He seriously considered backing away, now wasn't a good time. They were under a lot of stress and needed time to build a relationship away from the shadow of this case.

Just as his mouth was about to engage and spew out all the crap that had been racing through his mind, the voice of reason took over. They'd been waiting nine years for the right time, was there such a thing as a good time? Stress is a way of life for them, and so what if they were under the shadow of a case, that's what they do!

A small seed of doubt was beginning to take root in the pit of Mac's stomach. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Maybe she had misunderstood what he said tonight on the porch. Was it too late to back peddle and settle on another movie?

Before his mind could come up with some other excuse, he recognized a familiar change in her gaze. It was the same pained look she'd given him on the ferry in Sydney. No, he wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Harm reached out and pulled Mac up tightly against his chest with such force that all the air rushed from her lungs. He would never give her reason to doubt his love or want for her again. Pressing his hungry lips against hers, Harm reveled in the taste of Sarah MacKenzie.

Sure they had kissed before, it was something they'd indulged in more often since this case began, and even more so over the last week, but this was different. The need and desire within had collided like two opposing forces creating a title wave of passion that he wasn't sure he could or wanted to control.

Mac heard him suck in a sharp breath as her fingers slid under his shirt and gently raked across his bare back. She could feel his hot ragged breath almost caressing her soft skin as she painfully waited for him to resume setting a trail of moist, sensual, kisses across her neck.

"Sarah."

Oh, God. The sound of her given name only heightened the desire that was pooling heavily within her.

"I need to be sure. I have to hear you say you …you want this…me." Harm placed a slow, moist kiss under the base of her ear.

"Ye…eess…" She was barely able to speak.

"Say it, Sarah. Tell me you're sure." Harm placed another wet hungry kiss along the edge of her jaw, and another on her neck, her collarbone. Her chest was heaving in anticipation as the kisses made their way closer to the exposed cleavage at the edge of her shirt. "Tell me you're sure," he repeated, breathing heavily.

"I'm …sure. Very sure."

**Chapter 24**

**Mac's apartment**

**Next morning**

Still wrapped snuggly in each other's embrace, neither wanted to move to answer the obnoxious ringing of the telephone.

Pulling away from Harm as little as possible, Mac stretched her arm out and fumbled for the phone. "MacKenzie," she managed to mumble before dropping the handset unceremoniously on Harm's chest.

"Ooph," he coughed.

"Sorry." Hurriedly lifting the phone back to her ear. "Hello."

"Colonel? This is Detective Russell. I'm sorry if I woke you. Commander Rabb's cell isn't working yet and there's no answer at his home."

Mac's internal clock was totally out of whack. Lifting Harm's arm she tried to read his watch. 0716.

"No problem. Any news?"

"We did it." She grinned on the other end of the phone. "One night and he was scared shitless."

Mac sat up straight in bed, clutching the sheet to her bare breasts.

"What happened." Holding the phone away from her ear, she signaled for Harm to listen in.

"First thing this morning Hatcher asked to see the DA. He's copping to invasion of privacy and accessory aggravated assault, both misdemeanors so he can serve his time here at CDF." Angela could hear Mac's disappointment over the phone.

"Colonel. He gave us a lot. There's more to this than a simple blackmailing. Healy thinks he can overthrow the US military." Angela waited for that to sink in.

"We've already got the warrants. ATF, the Virginia, Texas, and California State police are in on this now too. There will be simultaneous raids on Healy's offices, homes and three training camps. He's got plans in the works that would wreak havoc on Capital Hill and throughout Washington DC. This is big Colonel."

**FBI Raid Control Center**

**1310 hours**

Harm and Mac parked the Lexus around the back of the building. Casually walking in the rear entrance, the two lawyers dressed in business attire made their way upstairs.

The moment the elevator doors opened on the second floor, they were struck by the buzz of activity. They were immediately confronted by two large men in suits. It took only a few minutes to produce the required Identification and be escorted to the hub of the operation.

"I see you decided to join us," Agent Novak announced from his position by the monitors.

Several monitors were set up across a table. Harm could make out the entrance of the New Horizons Corporate Headquarters across the street on the first monitor, the second monitor was obviously a hand held recorder of sorts being carried by one of the agents prepared to conduct the search across the street. The other monitors were similar set ups from the miscellaneous raid points across the country. From what they could see, Healy's house could probably hold every building on the block.

"Your timing is holding up, raids are due to begin in less than 8 minutes." Novak glanced at them briefly before returning his focus to the screens in front of them.

"Any indication they're onto us?" Mac asked.

"Not from what we can tell. According to Detective Russell, they've set the arraignment for 3 o'clock. By the time Healy realizes they've been had, it will all be over." Novak didn't bother looking up from his screen this time.

Mac was standing ramrod straight, her eyes focused intently on the first two monitors. Harm resisted the urge to reach over and touch her. Mac was an excellent lawyer and marine, but the man in him wanted desperately to reach over and comfort the woman hiding behind the strong facade.

Looking at his watch, Novak spoke into his radio. "Base one, ready to go in 60."

One by one, each of the raid locations called in. They were all set and ready to go. In less then a minute, the first crew across the street stormed the building in a rush. Announcing themselves to security in the main lobby, they brushed past everyone making their way to Healy's office.

Hanging the phone up quickly, a short, stocky woman in her mid 40's jumped up from behind her desk.

"Mr. Healy isn't here," she announced in a stern voice, as any good private secretary would when trying to protect her boss from unwanted visitors.

The lead agent reached for the door as another agent handed the secretary a piece of paper. Finding the door locked, he stepped back.

"Mr Healy always locks the door when he's not in." The words were barely out of her mouth when her eyes flew open at the sight of the agents breaking the doors open and flooding her boss' office.

"What are you doing!" she screeched.

As the agents began confiscating Healy and his secretary's files, computers, and the contents of their desk drawers, the agent who had given her a copy of the warrant tapped the paper she was clenching in her hand. "Search warrant."

Everyone was focusing intently on the events unfolding from the hand held camera when Harm just happened to look over at the monitor covering the front of the building. Glaring at the screen. "Mac where's Healy's picture?"

Mac reached across and picked up one of the files Novak had placed on the table. "Here, what is it?"

Glancing briefly at the photo inside the file, "That's him!" Harm shouted as he turned and bolted out the door.

Without a second's hesitation, Mac was two steps behind him racing down the stairs and out the front door of the building. Looking quickly to either side, Harm could see Healy slowly trying to inconspicuously make his way down the street.

Harm rushed across the street, cars on both sides screeching to a halt causing Healy to look up. Recognizing Harm immediately, Healy took off running down the alley with Harm and Mac maneuvering their way through the stopped cars, across the street and down the alley after him.

Turning the corner, Healy was trapped at the end of a dead end alley.

"Give it up, Healy. It's over." Harm stopped at the edge of the building, his hand stretched out stopping Mac behind him, his pistol pointing up in the other hand.

Pressing herself against the wall, behind Harm. Mac released the safety on her sidearm. "I'll cover you."

"Let's hope you don't have to. How many businessmen do you know who carry a weapon to the office?"

"How many businessmen do you know who plan to blow up the United States Congress?" Mac glared sarcastically.

"Point taken. I'll go first, you cover me."

Bullets flew from Healy's direction as soon as Harm turned into the alley making his way behind the closest large dumpster.

Firing from the edge of the brick building. Mac paused to take aim as Healy popped up from behind some crates. Healy shot at Harm as he zagged from behind the dumpster getting closer to Healy before taking cover again behind some trash cans. Changing the clip on her weapon, Mac took aim again. Within minutes, Healy was feeling the desperation of a trapped rat. Showing himself more frequently in a frantic attempt to shoot it out, Healy stepped out from behind his cover just as Mac pulled the trigger.

Hitting him square in the kneecap, Healy dropped to the ground crumpled in pain.

Mac scurried down the alley, pausing at Harm's side. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks. Nice shooting."

"I wasn't aiming for his knee," Mac snorted, waiting for Harm to get up from behind the trash cans.

"Everybody Freeze!" Novak shouted from the mouth of the alley.

Harm rolled his eyes, brushing himself off, while the army of agents ran down the alley to Healy.

"Don't you ever learn your lesson, Commander? You could have gotten yourselves killed." Novak shook his head. Rabb was an arrogant hot dog years ago and as far as Novak was concerned, nothing had changed. "Stick around, we're going to need statements from you."

"You know where to find us." Placing his hand on the small of Mac's back, Harm turned away from Novak and made his way out the alley, walking past the scrambling agents and paramedics.

**Chapter 25**

**Mac's apartment **

**Georgetown**

**1545 hours**

As soon as she was inside her front door, Mac leaned back heavily against the wall with a deep sigh.

"Hey, you okay?" Harm stepped up close to Mac, resting his hands on her shoulders, caressing them in slow circular motions.

"Yeah," Mac shifted her weight and dropped her head against Harm's shoulder, her arms limp at her side.

Harm's arms snaked around her back, pulling her tightly against him. "It's over, they've got him."

Mac was still leaning limply against him. His hand began slowly stroking her hair.

"Mac?" Harm was starting to get concerned over her lack of sound or movement when she finally lifted her head.

"I'm okay. I just needed a second to let it all sink in, or maybe all rush out," she half chuckled, pulling back to look at him.

Smiling brightly at her. "You sure?"

"Yeah, we got him, it's over. The last laugh is probably on him, if it weren't for him, there wouldn't finally be an us." Pulling one hand away from her shoulder and lightly kissing his hand, Mac tipped her cheek into Harm's palm.

"I was hoping you'd feel that way. We didn't exactly have any time to talk about what happened, I mean... last night." Harm lightly kissed her forehead.

"We seem to do so much better when we don't talk," Mac blushed softly.

"Oh, yeess." Harm leaned in, his lips closed firmly on hers. Words really were definitely overrated.

**Admiral Chegwidden's office**

**JAG Headquarters**

**Next day**

"At ease people." AJ took a seat behind his desk gesturing for the others to sit.

"As usual you've resolved this tragic issue expeditiously and managed to come out smelling like roses as well." AJ's eyes twinkled from withheld laughter.

"Thank you, sir," the three chorused.

"Sir, do they know what they'll be charging Healy with yet?" Bud asked.

"Blackmail and murder for starters. Other charges depend on what they find after they've waded through the mountains of confiscated material. "

"Has he said anything, sir?" Harm asked.

"Just what you already know. He was convinced he could build a better, stronger military. Return this country to the days of the revolutionary war. He thought by blackmailing competent high ranking officers he could not only fund his program but seriously cripple the military by forcing their early retirement, then use his forces to take over." AJ had felt there was something unusually sinister about this entire situation, but he had never imagined someone was trying to overthrow the US government.

"How close was he to implementing his plan to attack Washington and Congress?" Bud inquired.

"Too close," AJ practically mumbled.

"So we were just a means of funding his little revolution?" Mac sighed

"Pretty much, yes. When he thought that Kensington was in his pocket, he tried to eliminate as much of the competition as possible. Everyone else was just a means to more money to pay for this elaborate plan." AJ sat back in his chair letting out a short sigh.

"What about Edelhaus, sir?"

"Healy had nothing but disdain for US military officers, unless they were willing to join his side. When he couldn't convince him to help train the troops, he decided to at least make some money from him."

"What about the young man. Did Healy kill him?" Mac asked quietly.

"No, one of his body guards, Bilkman, Buckman, something like that. Apparently the kid was supposed to transfer the money from the briefcase into the lining of a coat Healy's goon had checked in. When the kid saw how much money there was, he decided it was worth more than the hundred dollars they were paying him and he skimmed a grand off the top." AJ shook his head at how greed could destroy good people.

"Sir, look." Bud pointed to the TV screen.

Seeing Stuart Dunston from ZNN standing in front of the America's New Horizon training camp in Virginia, AJ raised the volume.

"This is an excellent example of the implementation of the new inter-agency cooperation in the federal government. The ATF, FBI, DC police, California, Texas and Virginia State police as well as the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps worked together seamlessly to bring these simultaneous raids to a successful end. I have been told, without the help of two dedicated officers, Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. and Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, who were willing to put their lives, and in this case their reputations, on the line, none of this would have been possible." Stuart Dunston reported into the camera.

Having heard enough, AJ pressed the mute button on the remote control.

"Sir, will we be able to keep the names of all the blackmailed officers out of the media?" Harm asked.

"I believe so. We seem to have succeeded in putting the right spin on this story from the beginning. 'Dot com militia plans second revolution.'" AJ rolled his eyes.

"When will we know more about Healy?" Mac questioned.

"You'll know when I know, Colonel."

"Aye, sir," Mac nodded.

"In the meantime, I believe you all have plenty of work to do. That will be all." AJ effectively dismissed his people returning his attention to the piles of paper in front of him.

Harm followed Mac to her office.

"We've got a few minutes before we're due in court, want a cup of coffee?" Harm nodded towards the break room from her doorway.

"God YES!" Mac cried. She had missed her daily caffeine doses desperately since this entire escapade had begun. The thought of a fresh cup before court was almost as heavenly as being in Harm's arms, almost.

It didn't take Harm long to return with two steaming cups of almost fresh coffee. "I doubt it's marine grade," he smiled, taking the seat closest to her desk.

"As long as it's not tea, I'm thrilled," Mac grinned brightly.

"I'd have been back sooner but I had to wait for Petty Officers Jennings and Maroney to apologize for what I'm not supposed to know they were thinking." Harm shook his head in amusement.

"We probably have Stuart Dunston to thank for that. His news reports should do a pretty good job of counteracting all the scuttlebutt these past couple of months." Mac took a long sip of her hot coffee.

"We're going to have to talk about what to tell everyone." Harm set his cup down on Mac's desk.

"Well, I don't think here and now is a good time to discuss it. We need to get moving or we'll be late for court. It's unlikely being TV celebrities is going to have any influence on Admiral Morris." Mac stood up gathering a few files into her briefcase.

"You're right. Tonight, my place, I'll even cook," Harm smiled, his eyes twinkling in anticipation.

"Tonight." Mac smiled back. They definitely needed to talk. No point in mentioning now that it hadn't occurred to either of them to use any birth control the last two nights.


	4. Chapter 26 the end

**Chapter 26**

**Harm's apartment**

**Near Union Station**

As soon as Harm had come home, Detective Russell called him with an update. Much to Harm's relief, the police had gone through all the videos and none were of Harm and Mac. Although there were still mounds of evidence to sort through, and it would be a while before they'd know all the charges that would be brought against Healy, they had already managed to choral and arrest several more people.

The man who had been following and photographing Mac and Harm outdoors had a talent for taking incriminating photos by fitting in anywhere on the spur of the moment. He wouldn't be seeing daylight for a long time.

It turned out the man who had assaulted Harm was a surveillance expert sent to install hidden video cameras. If he hadn't taken the time to rummage through Harm's desk for additional blackmail material first, he probably would have succeeded. When Harm startled him by showing up unexpectedly, he abandoned the plan and high tailed it out of there, unintentionally leaving Harm's apartment as Harm and Mac's only safe haven.

Now, he and the first guy were singing like canaries and pointing fingers at each other. The goon who had killed the coat clerk at the restaurant had also been apprehended along with a long list of people involved in the conspiracies, as well as the blackmail. Healy definitely fit the cliché: 'pride goeth before a fall.' Russell assured Harm and Mac there would be no problem putting all these people away for a lot of years, thanks to Healy's outstanding penchant for record keeping.

Harm had thrown together another one of his fast and easy pasta specialties. It had been a typical dinner. They chatted amicably about work, and what Detective Russell had reported, yet they avoided anything that fell even remotely into the category of 'us'. Both were afraid finally having the much needed talk might ruin what had become so perfect without words.

The hardest thing for Harm was keeping a safe distance from Mac. They were normally somewhat affectionate, an arm on her waist, her hand on his shoulder, a kiss here and there. Despite having been pretending for nearly two months to be an item, and having admitted a week ago in his kitchen to wanting an us, in reality they had gone in an instant from being working partners to lovers, completely skipping the usual stepping stones along the way. They hadn't really dated, or been allowed to behave as a normal couple. Today was the first time they were interacting alone together as a couple since crossing the line from friendship to lovers.

Even though the physical tenderness came naturally, and they both seemed to thrive on it, he didn't want to over do it and scare her away. A possibility he knew was all too real. He wanted her so badly, to carry her off to the other room and devour every soft, delicious inch of her. How would he ever get enough of being with Sarah MacKenzie?

What Harm hadn't realized was that Mac felt very much the same way. All she wanted from the moment she walked in the door, was to be wrapped in his arms, to feel his strong muscles ripple at her touch.

With the table cleared and the dishwasher loaded, Harm and Mac settled down on the sofa for the inevitable talk.

"How do you suggest we handle our relationship at the office?" Harm started. "In terms of telling people about us," he clarified quickly. The last thing he needed was for Mac to misunderstand and think there was anything about them that he would want to hide or deny.

"Well, if you don't mind. In light of all that's gone on, and all the scuttlebutt we're trying to overcome, I think it might be wise to keep the relationship strictly between us and our closest friends. No public announcements yet. Except maybe the Admiral. We owe him that much." Mac took hold of Harm's hand for a little reassurance.

"You may have a point, but we're going to have to let the office in on it eventually." Harm paused for a moment wondering how best to say what he was feeling.

"As far as I'm concerned, Mac, I don't ever want to be with anyone else in my lifetime." He knew he'd just laid his heart out on the table before her, but hiding how he felt all these years hadn't done him any good. Maybe the truth would.

Mac couldn't help the way the corners of her mouth began to curl up. No matter what they needed to work through, she knew now, everything would be just fine.

Encouraged by the bashful blush on Mac's face.

"I was wondering. Since we still have a deal and all, and AJ's birthday is this month. Do you think, maybe some day soon, we could try again? The baby I mean, for real." Harm tried to read her eyes.

Well, now was probably as good a time as any to bring up their situation, Mac thought.

"That's something else we probably want to talk about," Mac smiled. Trying to hide her nervousness, she shifted and reached for a glass of water.

Harm mistook Mac's hesitation to mean she'd reconsidered going through with the deal after all. Only this morning the reality of not using contraceptives had dawned on him while he was lost in thought on his way to work. A slight sense of loss settled in his stomach. Until now he'd clung briefly all day to the hope that just maybe she hadn't been on anything and he wouldn't have to give up on the idea of Mac having his baby.

Picking up his hot tea from the table, "I know this may sound a little silly." Harm focused on the brew in his cup. "I realized on my way to the office this morning that I forgot to use a condom. I was somewhat... overzealous," Harm smiled, more to himself than anyone since he was still looking down at his cup.

Mac stopped sipping her water, the lump rising in her chest settled heavily in her throat. Her eyes lifted to stare nervously at Harm, anxiously awaiting the rest of his sentence.

"I sort of thought, hoped actually, that maybe you weren't on anything." Harm finally looked up at Mac. "I know it's ridiculous, we haven't talked about it, we're just getting started on you and me as an us, we're probably not ready for a crowd yet. I just need to get used to the idea that there isn't really a baby, our baby."

Mac heaved a small sigh and leaned forward taking hold of Harm's hand.

"I'm not on anything. I was waiting for a good time to mention it." Mac pressed her lips together, almost nibbling on her lower lip. "I don't think it's anything critical, wrong time of the month and all. Besides, at my age, getting pregnant isn't really that easy." she half smiled before continuing. "None the less, it's sort of sweet knowing that after this trial run, you still want to go ahead with our deal." Mac squeezed Harm's hand.

"I told you on the Roberts' porch. I'm ready for a life with you Mac. I don't care if we've only been together a few days. I've loved you for so many years. I feel like we have so much lost time to make up for. We should already have the house with the 2.5 children and the dog. When I remind myself you're not really pregnant, we're not really having a baby, my heart physically hurts," Harm sighed. Maybe this was more honesty than the relationship could handle, but he was tired of playing games.

Mac couldn't help the pool of tears that flooded to her eyes. Deep down she'd given up hope a long time ago that Harm would ever want a life with her. Even with the baby deal looming over them, she hadn't dared hope he might take it seriously, despite what he'd said recently.

Concerned at the sudden rush of tears, Harm's eyes opened wide. "Hey, I wasn't supposed to make you cry." He wiped the tears away with his thumbs before pulling her tightly into his embrace.

"Why am I always the only one crying?" Mac sniffled, a hint of a smile curling her lips.

"I don't know, but I promise to do my best never to make you cry again." Harm kissed the top of her head.

"Only happy tears," she clarified.

"Okay, happy tears." Pulling away from her a little. "Does this mean what I think it does? Are we both talking big house, white picket fences, dog, cat, kids, carpool, soccer games?"

"Maybe sooner than you think," she grinned.

Harm sported a full blown flyboy smile. "I'd like that." Kissing her lightly on the lips, once, twice, then again. "Do you think maybe, just in case, we could, practice some more on that deal?" Harm kissed her lightly again on the lips, then on her jaw, down her chin, under her ear.

"We've established …I'm not taking anything, do you …have something… here?" Mac managed to ask, her voice barely a whisper, her breathing already labored.

"Nope." He worked a trail of kisses back up her neck, across her chin, "If we're going to make up for lost time," barely kissing and teasing her lower lip, "I figure we won't need any." Pulling her even more tightly against him, his hand cupped the back of her head as his lips continued taunting hers, finally deepening the kiss.

Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her up the stairs, briefly releasing the hold on her lips.

"Did you say 2.5 children?" Mac asked, nibbling lightly on his neck.

"Mmn, for starters." Harm tried not to close his eyes, thankful the bed was only a few steps away.

"Then we'll need LOTS of practice." Mac smiled as Harm placed her softly on the bed.

"OH YES. For as long as we live."

The End.


End file.
